^RY  OF  PRlWCf?^ 


<^OLOGUl  SE>.V-€^ 


A 


BV  3790 

.G65 

1907 

^^ 

Goodell, 

Charles  L. 

1854- 

1937. 

Pastoral 

and 

personal 

ftvana^l 

i  sm 

Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 


Pastoral  and  Personal 


Evangelism 


By 


NOV  22  191i 


■ipei 


CHARLES  L.  GOODELL,  D.D. 

Pastor  of  Calvary  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
New  York  City 

Auf^or    of  **My   Mothtr's    Bible,''    "The 
DrillmasUr,"  "  Pathways  to  the  Best,"  etc. 


New  York  Chicago         Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 


London 


AND 


Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


SECOND  EDITION 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  31  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100    Princes    Street 


To 
my  dear  friend 

John  S,  Hvyler, 
New  York  City. 


PREFACE 

I  AM  led  by  the  importunity  of  my  brethren 
in  the  ministry  to  send  forth  this  book  which 
contains  the  heart  of  the  messages  which  I 
have  been  giving  throughout  the  country  for 
the  last  two  years.  The  welcome  which  that 
message  has  received  would  make  it  a  delight 
to  me  to  answer  the  manifold  calls  for  its  proc- 
lamation, but  the  exacting  pastorate  of  a 
great  church  makes  that  impossible,  save  in  a 
limited  way.  I  therefore  solicit  the  type  to 
carry  my  message  beyond  the  possibilities  of 
the  living  voice. 

Evangelism  is  the  aggressive  propaganda  of 
the  Christian  life ;  and  a  particular  phase  of  it 
is  the  burden  of  this  book.  While  recognizing 
the  value  of  those  great  historic  movements 
called  revivals,  led  for  the  most  part  by  great 
evangelists  like  Wesley,  Whitefield,  Finney, 
Moody,  and  others  who  still  labour  among  us, 
we  are  especially  desirous  of  laying  the 
emphasis  of  evangelistic  service  upon  that 
great  company  of  faithful  men  who  are  the 
pastors  of  our  churches,  and  upon  that  fellow- 
7 


8  Preface 

ship  of  noble  laymen  who  are  their  associates 
and  supporters  in  the  great  work  of  conserving 
the  Christian  life  of  the  community  and  build- 
ing up  the  Church  of  God. 

Let  no  word  of  mine  be  construed  as  a  de- 
preciation of  the  earnest  men  who  are  ac- 
credited among  us  as  faithful  evangelists,  but 
the  special  plea  we  make  is  for  pastoral  evangel- 
ism— the  plea  that  every  pastor  should  stir 
up  the  evangelistic  gift  which  is  in  him,  and 
make  full  proof  of  his  ministry  in  this  regard. 
Our  need  is  not  a  hundred  prof  essional  evangel- 
ists, but  a  hundred  thousand  consecrated 
pastors  who  will  shepherd  their  own  flock  and 
gather  their  own  lambs  into  the  fold. 

We  seek  in  these  chapters  to  give  both  in- 
spiration and  method,  so  that  every  hesitating 
pastor  may  find  the  courage  to  undertake  this 
greatest  and  most  satisfying  work, — the  win- 
ning of  souls.  The  book  is  for  the  most  part 
a  record  of  fact  and  conviction  wrought  out  in 
the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  it  is  sent  out  with 
the  hope  that  it  may  be  a  cheer  and  a  bugle 
blast  both  to  those  already  in  the  lists  and  to 
those  who  have  yet  not  dared  to  throw  them- 
selves into  the  battle  with  holy  abandon. 

Herein  is  also  found  inspiration  for  the  great 


Preface  9 

work  in  the  Sunday-school.  Sane  and  ap- 
proved methods  are  presented  which  it  is  be- 
lieved will  multiply  incalculably  the  efficiency 
of  this  greatest  agency  for  the  growth  of  the 
Christian  Church.  We  also  make  an  earnest 
plea,  supported  by  effective  methods,  for  out- 
door evangelism  in  city  and  country.  In  this 
connection  our  thanks  are  due  to  Funk  & 
Wagnalls  and  Eaton  &  Mains  for  permission 
to  republish  some  articles  originally  published 
in  the  Homiletic  JR&view  and  Sunday-School 
Journal. 

Equally  with  pastoral  evangelism  we  wish 
to  lay  emphasis  upon  the  personal  method  of 
reaching  men.  This  we  apply  both  to  the 
ministry  and  the  laity.  Here  will  be  found  a 
key  to  the  religious  situation.  The  Church 
was  begun  by  personal  work.  It  must  be 
carried  forward  by  the  same  method. 

We  sound  the  note  of  self-denying  service,  a 
challenge  to  every  Christian  in  pulpit  and  in 
pew.  Pentecosts  are  bending  low.  They  will 
fall  with  old-time  force  upon  any  who  will 
make  the  old-time  consecration.  To  this  end 
we  invoke  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  enduement 
of  power. 


CONTENTS 


I. 

The  Present  Call 

.      13 

II. 

Pastoral  Evangelism 

.      21 

III. 

The  Price  of  Power  . 

.      30 

IV. 

The  Unexpected  Harvest 

40 

V. 

The  Yearning  Soul    . 

47 

VI. 

Personal  Evangelism 

58 

VII. 

Laymen  in  Evangelism 

72 

VIII. 

A  Personal  Chapter 

79 

IX. 

The  Preparation  of  Prayer    . 

86 

X. 

Evangelistic  Bible  Study 

93 

XL 

Evangelistic  Preaching   . 

100 

XII. 

Pulpit  Power     .        .        .        . 

113 

XIII. 

Special  Revival  Periods  . 

121 

XIV. 

Method  of  Revival  "Work 

130 

XV. 

Drawing  the  Net 

140 

XVI. 

Union  Meetings  .        .        .        , 

146 

xvu. 

Evangelization  in  the  Sunday 

School 151 


12 


Contents 


xYin. 

XIX. 
XX. 
XXI. 
XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 
XXY. 


Ways  of  Beaching  the  Young 

Preparation  for  Decision  Day 

Decision  Day     .... 

After  Decision  Day 

The   Development   of  Chris- 
tian Experience    . 


Summer     Evangelization 
Town  and  Country 

Evangelistic  Biography  . 

The  Evangelistic  Eeward 


in 


160 
169 
176 
183 

190 

198 
207 
214 


I 

THE  PRESENT  CALL 

The  statistics  of  Conferences  and  Synods 
for  the  last  ten  years  have  not  been  pleasant 
reading  for  those  who  long  to  see  the  advance 
of  the  visible  Church  of  God.  The  percentage 
of  increase  in  Protestantism  in  the  last  decade 
has  been  the  smallest  of  any  decade  in  a 
hundred  years.  There  has  been  much  heart- 
searching  on  the  part  of  ministers  and  laity, 
and  the  dawn  of  a  better  day  glows  already  in 
the  East.  "We  are  coming  to  understand  that 
the  chief  obstacles  to  the  spread  of  vital 
Christianity  are  not  of  the  head  but  of  the 
heart.  The  amount  of  time  given  to  apolo- 
getics in  book  and  pulpit  is  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  the  relative  importance  of  the  theme. 
The  supreme  questions  are  not  of  theology  but 
of  religion.  It  is  life  and  not  theory  which 
fronts  us.  "  The  secret  of  the  Lord  "  is  not  with 
those  that  speculate  but  "  with  them  that  fear 
Him."  Is  not  the  record  of  Christianity  for 
two  millenniums  her  best  defense  ?  Why  then 
should  she  not  march  to  the  conquest  of  the 
'3 


14     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

world  rather  than  withdraw  her  forces  and 
accept  a  siege  ? 

It  is  not  enough  to  fold  our  hands  and  ask 
God  for  help.  The  voice  of  God  to  Moses  is 
His  voice  to  us :  "  Wherefore  criest  thou  unto 
Me  ?  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel  that 
they  go  forward." 

The  message  of  the  hour  is  not  the  critical, 
it  is  the  evangelistic  message.  President 
MacKenzie  of  Hartford  has  well  said, — 
"  Evangelism  is  the  only  true  regenerative  of 
the  human  heart,  the  only  real  cleanser  of  the 
life  of  a  nation." 

We  have  been  passing  through  a  period  of 
testing.  For  a  time  it  looked  to  many  that 
the  foundations  were  being  moved,  but  the 
investigations  of  reverent  scholarship  have 
been  productive  of  great  good  and  in  matters 
of  Biblical  interpretation  we  stand  upon  firmer 
foundations  than  ever.  It  is  heartening  to 
note  how  few  are  moved  by  the  questionings 
of  the  so-called  "  new  theology  "  in  England. 
The  attention  of  the  scholarly  is  being  devoted 
now  as  never  before  to  the  great  underlying 
questions  of  Christian  philosophy  and  that, 
too,  with  a  reverent  mind.  Now  we  are  to 
make  use  of  the  accredited  facts  of  scholarship 


The  Present  Call  15 

in  the  proclamation  of  the  truth.  We  are  able 
to  speak  with  greater  authority  and  with  deeper 
conviction.  Since  the  testing  of  our  weapons 
has  proven  them  to  be  of  celestial  temper,  it 
behooves  us  now  to  use  them  with  a  stout  arm 
and  a  mighty  faith. 

Nothing  makes  so  great  a  drain  upon  one's 
powers  as  evangelistic  service.  The  spiritual, 
intellectual  and  physical  requirements  are  most 
exacting.  He  who  would  preach  a  crucified 
Christ  must  himself  be  a  crucified  man.  His 
Master's  spirit  of  unselfish  service  must  domi- 
nate his  soul.  A  winner  of  men  must  be  a 
lover  of  men.  The  evangelistic  heart  must 
precede  the  delivery  of  the  evangelistic  mes- 
sage. Professor  Winchester  truly  says,  "  We 
hear  people  talking  sometimes  about  a  love  for 
souls  as  if  they  might  cherish  that  sort  of  pious 
regard  for  people  otherwise  very  disagreeable 
to  them.  But  I  don't  know  that  I  care  very 
much  that  a  man  should  love  my  soul  unless 
he  loves  me."  "  He  never  came  into  my  shop," 
said  a  Glasgow  blacksmith  of  Dr.  Norman 
McLeod,  "  without  talking  to  me  as  if  he  had 
been  a  blacksmith  all  his  life ;  but  he  never 
went  away  without  leaving  Christ  in  my 
heart."    The  present  call  is  for  a  tender  spirit 


l6     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

of  personal  concern,  and  it  is  also  a  call  for 
personal  conviction  of  the  truth  we  preach. 
V  In  an  art  shop  in  Paris  I  saw  a  little  bronze 
that  embodied  to  me  a  great  thought.  It  was 
a  statue  of  a  knight  of  the  olden  times.  He 
was  clad  in  linked  mail.  His  good  sword  was 
at  his  side.  His  pose  was  one  of  conscious 
strength  and  his  face  was  aglow  with  intensity 
of  purpose.  He  held  before  him  a  scroll 
which  bore  for  its  legend  the  single  word 
"  Ceedo."  The  lesson  is  not  far  to  seek.  It 
is  only  when  a  man  can  say,  "  I  believe  "  that 
he  amounts  to  much  in  awakening  faith  in 
other  men.  If  we  urge  men  to  enthrone 
Christ  in  their  hearts  we  must  ourselves  believe 
in  His  universal  triumph. 

Eobertson  of  Brighton  used  to  say,  "  My 
inclinations  are  all  one  way,  but  my  convictions 
are  all  another,"  and  he  was  true  to  his  con- 
victions. It  is  not  pleasant  to  do  downright 
pastoral  work.  It  is  often  a  burden  both  to 
the  flesh  and  to  the  spirit,  but  the  call  of  God 
leaves  no  doubt  as  to  our  duty. 

The  emphasis  of  the  hour  is  not  on  theology 
or  doctrine  of  any  sort.  It  is  on  life.  Doc- 
trine is  only  the  skin  of  truth,  there  may  be 
no  life  in  it.    It  is  only  when  a  living  soul  is 


The  Present  Call  17 

behind  truth  that  it  has  power.  In  the  old 
castle  at  Warwick  you  will  see  the  dented  hel- 
met and  breastplate  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  It 
is  but  a  useless  relic  and  only  the  fussy  care- 
taker keeps  it  from  the  gnawing  tooth  of  Time. 
But  once  the  good  round  head  of  Oliver  was 
under  that  helmet  and  his  stout  heart  beat 
under  that  breastplate.  Then  there  was  power 
in  them  and  thundering  down  upon  Dunbar 
to  the  shout,  "  Let  God  arise  and  let  His 
enemies  be  scattered"  they  were  invincible. 
We  are  to  preach  religion  rather  than  theology, 
and  to  preach  it  not  as  theory  but  as  life  and 
a  living  process.  Our  fathers  spoke  of  ex- 
periencing  religion  and  in  that  word  whole 
volumes  are  condensed.  There  was  daily 
growth  in  grace,  new  and  delightful  expe- 
riences of  spiritual  power,  so  that  every  pulse- 
beat  proclaimed  a  life  that  was  militant  and 
eager.  It  is  worth  while  to  consort  with  a 
man  of  that  sort  whether  in  the  ministry  or 
out  of  it. 

The  call  is  for  the  practical  application  of 
Christian  life  where  it  is  most  needed, — in  the 
round  of  daily  life.  I  make  a  plea  for  the  re- 
vival of  home  religion,  for  the  setting  up  of  a 
family  altar.    We  are  too  busy  now  for  family 


l8      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

prayers  but  Martin  Luther  used  to  say, 
"  Prayer  and  provender  hinder  no  man  in  his 
journey."  We  are  off  to  business  and  the 
children  go  to  school  without  the  uplift  of 
spiritual  communion.  The  tender  supplication 
which  made  us  strong  is  heard  no  longer  and 
we  go  out  alone  to  the  temptations  of  life. 
No  evangelism  can  be  better  than  that  which 
had  its  centre  in  the  home  circle  and  was  as 
continuous  as  the  recurrence  of  morning  and 
night.  A  solicitude,  punctuated  with  tears,  is 
not  soon  forgotten  and  many  who  strayed  into 
a  far  country  are  brought  back  to  home  and 
God  by  the  steady  tug  of  a  love  which  never 
failed. 

In  our  Church  work  the  call  of  the  hour  is 
for  something  that  will  bridge  the  chasm  be- 
tween the  institutional  and  the  spiritual. 
Many  Churches  have  adopted  so-called  insti- 
tutional methods  with  only  partial  success. 
Their  leaders  are  frank  to  say  that  men  have 
come  to  their  good  citizenship  meetings  but 
would  not  come  to  their  religious  services. 
They  would  use  their  bowling  alleys  and  bil- 
liard tables  but  not  their  pews.  While  it  is 
doubtless  better  to  have  such  games  in  con- 
nection with  the  Church  than  in  connection 


The  Present  Call  19 

with  the  saloon,  all  will  agree  that  the  aim  of 
the  Church  is  not  fully  reached  when  it  be- 
comes simply  a  purveyor  of  amusement.  The 
nexus  between  the  game-room  and  the  prayer- 
room  is  a  soulful  Christian,  pastor  or  layman, 
whose  steady  personal  solicitude  makes  the 
institutional  to  take  on  a  spiritual  meaning 
and  so  become  an  inspiration  to  a  better 
life. 

The  imperative  call  is  for  Christian  enthusi- 
asm. "  Ian  Maclaren,"  who  has  but  lately  passed 
into  that  unseen  holy  towards  which  all  men 
hasten,  and  who  will  not  be  accused  of  thought- 
less intensity,  has  left  for  us  a  message  we  do 
well  to  heed :  "  A  man  may  be  keen  about 
many  interests,  but  of  all  things  he  ought  to 
be  keenest  about  religion.  We  are  indulgent 
to  enthusiasm  in  many  departments.  .  .  . 
Why  should  polite  tolerance  for  any  man's 
hobby  harden  into  persecution  when  his 
mania  is  the  Kingdom  of  God  ?  Why  should 
a  gladiator  be  sane  and  St.  Paul  be  mad  ?  Ah, 
the  reason  is  not  obscure.  What  is  eccen- 
tricity but  motion  from  a  different  centre  ? 
.  .  .  If  any  one  believes  that  the  Kingdom 
of  God  will  remain  when  this  world  has  dis- 
appeared like  a  shadow,  then  he  is  right  to 


20     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

fling  away  all  that  he  possess  and  himself, 
too,  for  its  advancement  and  victory." 

We  have  come  to  a  fateful  hour.  The  battle 
is  on  and  before  the  smoke  of  it  lifts  there  will 
be  a  Waterloo  either  for  the  hosts  of  darkness 
or  for  the  people  of  God.  We  must  join  issue 
with  ease,  indifference,  materialism,  skepticism, 
and  outbreaking  sin.  If  we  are  heartless  and 
laggard  the  ancient  curse  which  fell  out  of 
heaven  will  smite  us  full  in  the  face :'  "  Curse 
ye  Meroz,  said  the  angel  of  the  Lord.  Curse 
ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof;  because 
they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 

Such  then  is  the  present  call  and  the  chap- 
ters which  follow  will  unfold  the  preparation 
which  we  need,  the  possibilities  of  the  glorious 
victory,  and  the  high  price  which  must  be  paid 
for  the  holy  triumph. 


n 

PASTORAL  EVANGELISM 

The  greatest  price  in  the  winning  of  souls 
must  be  paid  in  pastoral  service.  Bishops  be- 
fore conferences  and  candidates,  and  lecturers 
before  our  theological  schools,  exalt  the  work 
of  the  preacher  to  the  first  place,  and  the 
student  is  led  to  believe  that  his  pulpit  minis- 
tration is  the  main  and  almost  the  only  thing 
in  his  ministry.  There  is  no  immediate  danger 
that  there  will  be  too  high  a  grade  of  preach- 
ing. The  fathers  used  to  talk  about  "  beaten 
oil  for  the  sanctuary  "  and  by  that  they  meant 
that  the  preacher's  lamp  should  be  fed  by  that 
which  had  cost  him  holy  toil. 

There  are  two  words,  however,  which  are 
greater  than  preacher.  We  are  not  called  into 
the  pulpit  but  into  the  ministry  and  we  are 
pastors  rather  than  preachers.  To  preach  is 
one  of  the  duties  of  the  ministry  but  it  is  only 
one.  The  only  sense  in  which  it  is  the  chief 
function  of  the  ministry  is  the  sense  in  which 
St.  Francis  of  Assisi  understood  it.     Turning 

21 


22      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

to  a  young  brother  in  the  ministry  he  said, 
"  Let  us  go  down  into  the  town  and  preach." 
They  passed  through  the  market  and  along  the 
chief  squares  and  avenues.  Then  coming  to 
the  hill  leading  up  to  the  monastery  his  com- 
panion said,  "When  shall  we  begin  to  preach  ?  " 
St.  Francis  answered,  "  We  have  been  preach- 
ing all  the  time."  The  preaching  of  the  pulpit 
is  likely  to  be  too  remote  from  the  congrega- 
tion both  as  to  place  and  thought.  In  some 
way  we  must  get  to  the  people.  Webster  said, 
"  If  a  lawyer  were  perched  as  high  in  the  air 
and  as  far  off  from  the  jury  as  the  minister 
was  from  his  people  a  century  ago  he  would 
not  win  a  case  in  a  lifetime."  But  it  needs 
I  closer  contact  with  the  people  than  that  which 
the  pulpit  offers  to  win  men  to  Christ.  Dr. 
J.  O.  Peck,  himself  one  of  the  most  successful 
soul  winners  which  the  pastorate  of  the  last 
generation  produced,  has  left  a  testimony 
which  every  preacher  ought  to  know  by 
heart.  Said  he,  "  If  it  were  revealed  to  me 
from  heaven  by  the  archangel  Gabriel  that 
God  had  given  me  the  certainty  of  ten  years 
of  life  and  that  as  a  condition  of  my  eternal 
salvation  I  must  win  a  thousand  souls  to 
Christ  in  that  time,  and  if  it  were  further  con- 


Pastoral  Evangelism  23 

ditioned  to  this  end  that  I  might  preach  every- 
day for  the  ten  years  but  might  not  personally 
appeal  to  the  unconverted  outside  the  pulpit, 
or  that  I  might  not  enter  the  pulpit  during 
those  ten  years  but  might  exclusively  appeal  to 
individuals,  I  would  not  hesitate  one  moment  to 
accept  the  choice  of  personal  effort  as  the  sole 
means  to  be  used  in  securing  the  conversion  of 
ten  thousand  souls  as  the  condition  of  my  sal- 
vation." 

Throughout  his  ministry  the  writer's  prac- 
tice has  been  to  follow  up  the  revival  sermon 
by  pastoral  visitation,  devoting  to  that  purpose 
the  afternoon  of  each  day.  He  has  gone  to 
those  families  where  there  were  unconverted 
and  urged  their  presence  at  the  services. 
Where  the  unconverted  have  been  present  at 
the  meetings  but  have  made  no  movement  to- 
wards Christ  a  few  words  spoken  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Spirit  in  a  heart-to-heart  talk 
in  the  privacy  of  the  home  have  led  to  quick 
and  complete  surrender.  On  more  than  one 
occasion,  going  with  the  mill  owner  or  the 
manufacturer  through  his  estate,  the  placing 
of  a  hand  that  trembled  with  concern  upon 
the  rich  man's  shoulder,  and  the  question, 
"  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the 


24     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul "  has  sent 
an  arrow  of  conviction  to  a  sure  place,  and 
kneeling  among  merchandise  he  has  more  than 
once  seen  a  pauper  spiritually  become  a  mil- 
lionaire. We  have  no  disposition  to  make 
light  of  the  tremendous  drain  of  such  work 
upon  the  heart  and  soul.  One  feels  after  a 
day  of  such  work  in  some  humble  measure  as 
his  Master  felt  when  He  perceived  virtue  had 
gone  out  of  Him,  and  if  he  does  his  work  suc- 
cessfully he  will  find  that  only  his  Master's 
preparation  of  prayer  will  make  it  possible  for 
him  to  go.  Alas  that  so  many  who  claim  to 
be  followers  of  the  Master  should  share  so 
little  in  His  self-denial.  What  paupers  that 
day  will  disclose  which  measures  the  gift  of 
glory  according  to  our  share  in  His  sufferings. 
We  were  not  called  to  the  delights  of  literary 
leisure,  nor  to  the  function  of  critics  in  poetry 
or  art.  The  call  that  comes  to  us  has  long 
echoed  in  the  world.  To  Augustine  it  meant 
a  life  for  the  captive  Angles ;  to  Boniface  it 
meant  the  sacrifice  of  all  preferment  to  help 
the  heathen  natives  in  the  wilds  of  Germany. 
Because  of  that  call  Oberlin  went  forth  among 
the  Yosges,  and  Edwards  and  Eliot  among  the 
Indians  of  New  England.    This  is  too  fast 


Pastoral  Evangelism  25 

company  for  our  weighted  feet  to  keep.  The 
Yalhalla  of  the  eleventh  of  Hebrews  is  not  for 
men  who  are  at  ease  in  Zion.  There  is  a  great 
cry  coming  up  from  the  churches.  We  are 
not  keeping  pace  with  the  growth  of  our  land. 
May  it  not  be  true  that  one  reason  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  increased  wealth  has 
made  the  Church  less  careful  for  the  spiritual 
needs  of  others  and  less  ready  to  meet  the  self- 
denial  which  the  fathers  welcomed.  An  old 
saying  is  often  misquoted.  We  hear  it  said, 
"  Like  priest  like  people."  But  it  was  the 
statement  of  a  truth  which  explained  an 
ancient  deflection  when  it  read  as  originally 
uttered,  "Like  people  like  priest."  There  is 
room  for  great  heart-searching  on  the  part  of 
the  Christian  ministry  to-day.  We  must  not 
walk  the  path  of  dalliance.  The  price  of  it 
will  be  another  apostasy  more  terrible  than 
any  which  has  shaken  the  Church.  Nothing 
will  give  the  ministry  power  like  self-denying 
service.  It  is  true  for  every  preacher  as  it 
was  of  Christ,  that  the  bearing  of  the  cross 
gave  Him  power  to  draw  men  unto  Him. 

We  talk  about  winning  the  age  to  Christ,  as 
if  the  age  was  anything  except  as  it  is  made 
up  of  the  individual.    It  seems  a  long  way 


26      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

and  a  toilsome  one, — the  winning  of  men  in- 
dividually to  Christ.  Drummond  reminds  us 
of  a  fact  we  have  sometimes  forgotten. 
"  Every  atom  in  the  universe  can  act  on  every 
other  atom  but  only  through  the  atom  next  it. 
And  if  a  man  would  act  upon  every  other  man 
he  can  do  so  best  by  acting,  one  at  a  time, 
upon  those  beside  him."  We  are  looking  for 
a  Constantine  to  make  the  world  Christian  by 
an  edict.  What  kind  of  a  Christian  will  an 
edict  make  ?  Ask  history.  There  is  no  way 
of  success  but  the  irksome  way  of  personal  ap- 
peal and  personal  surrender. 

It  is  objected  that  the  pastor  cannot  attend 
to  such  details.  The  answer  is,  such  matters 
are  his  first  concern.  A  few  less  meetings  to 
organize  charitable  institutions  and  a  little 
more  time  spent  in  making  such  institutions 
unnecessary  might  be  wisdom  in  the  sight  of 
God.  A  little  less  time  in  the  purely  social 
and  a  little  more  time  in  the  purely  spiritual 
might  be  in  the  interest  of  a  wise  fraternity. 
If  a  rich  man  should  invite  thee  to  his  ban- 
quet wouldst  thou  not  go  ?  How  much  rather 
give  the  same  time  to  leading  a  famishing  soul 
to  the  feast  which  will  never  cloy  or  cease. 

Here  then  is  the  day  which  some  pastors 


Pastoral  Evangelism  27 

have  found  marvellously  blest  of  God.  An 
early  rising,  that  the  soul  may  greet  its  Lord. 
A  forenoon  spent  in  prayerful,  hopeful  prep- 
aration for  the  evening  service.  An  afternoon 
spent,  not  in  formal  calls  but  in  calls  for  a 
purpose,  in  homes  where  one  leaves  the  feeling 
that  he  was  sent  of  God.  In  the  evening  the 
presentation  of  the  message  prepared  in  the 
morning.  An  after-service  of  tender  persua- 
sion, concluding  with  the  happy  testimony  of 
saved  men  and  women.  Such  a  day  is  stren- 
uous enough  for  both  soul  and  body.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  keep  it  up  month  after 
month,  but  so  long  as  God  gives  the  power  of 
body  and  soul  to  do  it  it  will  accomplish  won- 
ders for  a  church.  It  was  after  such  a  day  as 
I  have  described  that  Benjamin  M.  Adams, 
quaint  old  hero  of  God,  wrote  to  Miss  Warner 
telling  the  story  of  his  toil  and  ended  it  with 
the  words  "  One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus." 
Many  a  man  after  such  a  day  has  been  able  to 
say  with  the  poetess  "  His  love  and  light  fill  all 
my  soul  to-night." 

The  effect  upon  the  community  of  such  de- 
votion on  the  part  of  the  pastor  cannot  be 
overestimated.  There  is  little  probability  that 
any  worldly  official  will  stand  in  the  way  of 


28     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

such  consecration.  In  a  varied  ministry  we 
have  never  found  any  who  would  oppose,  and 
very  few  who  would  not  throw  all  their  energy 
into  the  work.  The  pastor's  word  will  not  be 
one  of  fault-finding.  That  is  rarely  successful 
in  stirring  a  church  to  religious  activity.  He 
will  find  the  warm  word  of  invitation  better 
than  the  sandbag  of  denunciation.  It  will 
seem  to  him  that  some  good  angel  has  pre- 
pared the  way  in  the  hearts  of  his  own  people. 
It  is  not  in  human  nature  to  stand  unmoved 
when  a  man  throws  himself,  body  and  soul, 
into  the  breach  for  God.  The  people  see  their 
pastor  at  his  work,  early  and  late  ;  they  know 
of  the  agony  of  his  soul ;  they  see  the  marks 
of  it  in  his  face ;  they  come  to  believe  with 
him  that  it  is  a  time  of  holy  crisis  ;  that  what- 
ever rest  may  come  in  the  season  for  rest  now 
is  the  Waterloo  of  God  or  the  devil,  and  it  is 
time  for  every  Blucher  to  bring  up  his  reserve. 
The  whole  church  is  surcharged  with  interest 
and  this  begets  interest  in  the  entire  com- 
munity. 

It  will  seem  to  many  that  I  have  set  a  high 
price  upon  the  winning  of  souls,  but  it  is  the 
price  that  has  been  paid  in  all  the  ages  since 
Jesus  set  us  our  example  and  went  to  His 


Pastoral  Evangelism  29 

cross.  It  is  enough  that  His  disciple  be  as  his 
Lord.  I  know  of  no  man  who  has  been 
anointed  to  preach  for  God  who  has  not 
walked  a  path  of  toil  and  self-denial  hot 
enough  to  blister  his  feet.  The  price  of  great 
victories  is  great  surrender, — surrender  of 
ease,  of  natural  inclination,  of  everything  that 
interferes  with  the  one  great  thing  we  do. 
Men  do  not  become  saints  in  their  sleep.  Pas- 
tors do  not  witness  great  revivals  by  simply 
wishing  for  them.  The  only  royal  road  is  the 
one  which  bears  the  mark  of  a  pierced  foot. 
The  light  which  lights  the  world  is  a  burning 
as  well  as  a  shining  one.  As  the  oil  wastes 
the  flame  aspires.  It  is  worth  while  to  be 
consumed  with  the  ardour  of  our  devotion  if 
only  we  may  light  the  world. 


Ill 

THE  PRICE  OF  POWER 

He  who  adventured  farthest  to  save  the  lost 
and  in  whose  footsteps  every  minister  of  His 
must  seek  to  walk,  has  fastened  a  message 
with  a  nail  of  His  cross  in  the  path  He  trod 
and  these  are  its  words  : — "  If  any  man  would 
come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  Me." 

Edwin  Markham  in  "The  Desire  of  Illa- 
tions "  pictures  the  coming  of  the  Christ  and 
thrills  us  with  His  message  :  — 

"And  He  will  say — the  King  — 
Come  let  us  live  the  poetry  we  sing  ! 

And  these  His  burning  words  will  break  the  ban  — 
Words  that  will  grow  to  be 
On  continent,  on  sea, 

The  rallying  cry  of  man." 

With  the  cry  of  a  measureless  want  in  our 
ears,  and  the  sight  of  stolid  men,  not  a  few, 
who  say,  "  no  man  hath  cared  for  my  soul," 
it  is  time  for  each  pulpit  to  challenge  every 
other,  "  Come,  let  us  live  the  gospel  we 
preach  1 " 

30 


The  Price  of  Power  31 

If  we  are  to  have  power  with  God  and  with 
men,  we  must  pay  the  price  in  self-denying 
service.  Jowett  was  right  when  he  said, — 
"  When  we  cease  to  bleed,  we  cease  to  bless." 
Dr.  Stevenson  tells  the  legend  of  the  Chinese 
potter  who  would  make  a  vase  of  surpassing 
beauty  and  fire  the  colours  so  that  they  should 
be  unchanged  through  all  the  ages  and  unsur- 
passed in  beauty.  One  degree  of  heat  after 
another  disappointed  him.  One  substance 
after  another  failed  to  bring  the  colour  he 
sought.  Faint  and  discouraged,  he  threw  him- 
self in  despair  into  the  fire  of  his  furnace,  and 
so  strange  was  the  effect  of  his  immolation 
that  colours  unknown  before  and  beautiful 
beyond  compare  were  revealed  in  the  finished 
vase,  and  they  are  yet  the  wonder  of  the  ages. 
So  the  maker  found  his  immortality.  All  this 
is  but  a  legend,  but  our  Master  gives  us  a  mes- 
sage which  is  not  a  legend  nor  yet  a  parable. 
We  are  trying  to  kindle  spiritual  fires  which 
shall  make  a  product  fit  to  mirror  to  all  the 
ages  the  features  of  our  blessed  Lord.  Can 
anything  surpass  the  thrill  of  the  message  to 
his  workmen :— "  He  that  loveth  his  life  loseth 
it ;  and  he  that  hateth  his  life  in  this  world 
ghall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal."    No  man's  lips 


32      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

ever  demanded  of  his  followers  such  service  as 
do  the  lips  of  Jesus.  The  Bible  is  a  book  of 
heroes  and  has  the  making  of  heroes  in  its 
holy  sacramentum. 

There  is  a  lesson  for  us  in  the  first  humil- 
iation that  the  disciples  suffered  when  they 
faced  in  their  impotency  an  anxious  father 
and  his  suffering  son :  "  I  spake  to  Thy  dis- 
ciples that  they  should  cast  out  this  dumb 
spirit  and  they  could  not,"  and  Jesus  took 
him  by  the  hand  and  raised  him  up ;  and  he 
arose.  And  when  He  was  come  into  the  house 
His  disciples  asked  Him  privately,  "  How  is  it 
that  we  could  not  cast  it  out,"  and  He  said, 
"This  kind  can  come  out  by  nothing  save 
by  prayer."  The  message  with  which  Jesus 
thrilled  His  disciples  was  passed  on  by  them 
to  their  successors.  Hear  the  old  soldier, 
Paul,  as  the  time  draws  near  when  he  must 
lay  off  his  armour  and  hand  down  his  sword 
to  the  youthful  Timothy :  "  I  charge  thee  in 
the  sight  of  God  and  of  Christ  Jesus  who  shall 
judge  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  by  His  ap- 
pearing and  His  kingdom,  preach  the  Word  ; 
be  urgent  in  season,  out  of  season ;  reprove, 
rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  long-suffering  and 
teaching.    .    .    .    Be  thou  sober  in  all  things, 


The  Price  of  Power  33 

suffer  hardship,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist, 
fulfill  thy  ministry."  How  the  heart  of  the 
writer  of  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews  burns  with 
holy  zeal  as  he  thinks  of  the  heroes  in  God's 
Temple  of  Fame  !  "  And  what  shall  I  more 
say?  for  the  time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of 
Gideon  and  of  Barak,  and  of  Samson,  and  of 
Jephtha,  of  David  also,  and  Samuel,  and  of 
the  prophets ;  who  through  faith  subdued 
kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained 
promises,  .  .  .  and  others  had  trials  of 
mockings,  and  scourgings,  yea  moreover  of 
bonds  and  imprisonment ;  they  were  stoned, 
they  were  sawn  asunder,  they  were  tempted, 
they  were  slain  with  the  sword ;  they  went 
about  in  sheepskins,  in  goatskins,  being  desti- 
tute, afflicted,  ill-treated,  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy.  .  .  .  Therefore  let  us 
also,  seeing  that  we  are  compassed  about  with 
so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  lay  aside  every 
weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset 
us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that 
is  set  before  us."  We  cannot  possibly  run 
with  these  worthies  unless  the  Lord  God  Al- 
mighty shall  quicken  us  for  the  race. 

John  the  Kevelator  saw  the  company  of  the 
saved.    He  learned  that  there  were  three  rea- 


34     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

sons  for  their  victory.  The  first  was,  "  The 
blood  of  the  Lamb."  They  were  saved  men, — 
glad  recipients  of  the  atonement  of  Calvary. 
The  second  reason  named  is,  "The  word  of 
their  testimony."  They  had  lived  a  life  that 
was  pure  enough  to  last  forever,  and  they 
bore  testimony  to  His  keeping  power  and 
went  everywhere  persuading  men  to  share 
their  bliss  through  the  same  adorable  Lord. 
The  third  reason  he  gives  is  that  they  "  held 
not  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves."  We 
may  be  certain  that  anything  less  than  a  com- 
plete surrender  of  our  powers  to  God  will  not 
pass  muster.  What  right  have  we  to  keep  com- 
pany with  the  scarred  and  weary  veterans 
who  come  home  victorious, — we  who  have 
worked  with  our  hand  upon  our  pulse  lest  we 
should  stir  ourselves  into  unwonted  activity  ? 
The  epitaph  of  such  is  likely  to  be,  "  He  died 
of  too  much  self-control."  If  we  are  to  have 
any  place  whatever  in  that  noble  company 
who  are  heralded  to  the  ages  as  "  Overcomers," 
we  must  have  some  scars  of  our  own  and  an 
honest  story  of  self-denial  and  agonizing  serv- 
ice for  our  Master's  sake.  It  was  such  a  hero 
that  Bunyan  sends  up  to  his  Gates :  "  Mr. 
Valiant  for  Truth  said,  *  I  am  going  to  my 


The  Price  of  Power  35 

Father ;  and  though  with  great  difficulty  I  am 
got  hither,  yet  now  /  do  not  repent  me  of  all 
the  trouble  I  have  heen  at  to  arrive  where  I  am. 
My  sword  I  give  to  him  that  shall  succeed  me 
in  my  pilgrimage,  and  my  courage  and  skill  to 
him  that  can  get  it.  My  marks  and  scars  I 
carry  with  me  to  he  a  witness  for  me  that  I 
have  fought  His  hattles  who  will  now  he  my 
rewarder.^  When  the  day  that  he  must  go 
hence  was  come,  many  accompanied  him  to 
the  riverside,  into  which,  as  he  went,  he  said, 
*  Death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? '  and  as  he  went 
down  deeper,  he  said,  *  Grave,  where  is  thy 
victory  ? '  So  he  passed  over,  and  all  the 
trumpets  sounded  for  him  on  the  other  side." 

I  know  the  yearning  of  my  brethren  in  the 
ministry,  and  I  am  bound  to  say  that  no  age 
in  the  history  of  the  church  has  had  a  more 
devoted  company  of  pastors  than  those  who 
now  fill  the  Christian  pulpits  of  America.  I 
have  personally  conversed  with  thousands  of 
them  in  all  parts  of  our  land,  and  my  heart 
goes  out  to  them.  Many  would  pay  any  price 
for  spiritual  victory,  if  only  they  could  be 
assured  that  the  price  would  avail.  Speaking 
at  Northfield  before  hundreds  of  ministers, 
nothing  so  moved  my  own  heart  as  the  eager, 


36      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

almost  pathetic,  faces  of  the  men  who  were 
in  middle  life  or  beyond.  I  felt  I  had  a  mes- 
sage for  them,  and  I  could  hardly  master  my- 
self as  I  spoke  words  which  I  venture  to  re- 
peat here : 

"  I  am  looking  into  the  faces  of  many  who 
have  passed  into  middle  life.  The  dew  is 
gone ;  the  hot  sun  is  beating  down ;  you  have 
learned  many  things  about  the  world  by  bitter 
experiences ;  you  are  wiser  but  you  are  sadder 
men.  Do  you  remember  when  you  first  went 
into  the  pulpit  to  preach?  You  have  not 
quite  forgotten  how  your  keees  shook  as  you 
went  up  the  stairs  and  how  the  desire  to  win 
men  burned  in  your  soul.  Then  if  you  learned 
of  a  wayward  soul,  you  would  travel  all  day 
to  seek  and  save  it.  But  the  ardour  of  the 
first  experience  has  paled  now ;  it  comes  no 
more.  Preachers  say  to  me,  *  What  are  we 
to  do  about  it  ? '  Well,  it  is  a  sad  hour  in  a 
man's  life  when  his  first  zeal  has  spent  its 
force  and  no  new  incentive  has  taken  its  place. 
That  is  the  time  when  many  clergymen  go 
into  semi-religious  things.  They  become  agents 
and  promoters,  secretaries  and  presidents,  and 
try  to  create  a  new  interest  in  life.  But  if  you 
must  stay  in  the  ministry,  there  is  only  one 


The  Price  of  Power  37 

thing  for  you.  You  must  get  a  new  vision. 
If  any  of  you  feels  that  he  has  reached  the 
deadline  by  reason  of  his  years,  I  wish  to  as- 
sure you  that  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world 
why  these  years  should  not  be  the  brightest, 
happiest  years  in  all  your  ministry.  You 
ought  to  do  better  work  for  God  than  ever  in 
the  past.  But  hear  me  when  I  say  that  in 
order  to  make  that  true  you  must  pay  the  full 
price  in  toil  and  surrender  to  God.  I  went 
out  quite  early  this  morning  to  your  little 
Kound  Top.  There  are  two  graves  there. 
They  are  the  graves  of  kindred  hearts.  *  They 
were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives,  and  in 
death  they  are  not  divided.'  One  is  the  grave 
of  D wight  Moody, — the  other  is  the  grave  of 
his  faithful  wife.  *  As  his  part  is  that  goeth 
down  to  the  battle,  so  shall  his  part  (her  part) 
be  that  tarrieth  by  the  stuff.'  That  sweet 
woman  in  the  sight  of  God  is  to  be  credited 
with  a  share  in  the  victories  that  came  to  the 
stout  heart  to  whom  she  gave  courage  and  for 
whom  she  never  ceased  to  pray.  I  noticed 
that  this  strong  man  had  died  at  what  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  calls  *  the  grand  climacteric 
of  life,' — sixty-two  years  of  age.  Nature 
made  him  a  fine  animal  and  built  his  heart  to 


38     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

run  for  at  least  fourscore  years  and  ten,  but 
his  heart  took  on  the  cares  of  this  world  so 
greatly  and  throbbed  so  terribly  under  them 
that  it  shook  its  tabernacle  to  pieces  at  sixty- 
two.  Now,  brothers,  D.  L.  Moody  preferred 
to  die  in  the  saddle  rather  than  to  die  by  the 
fire.  "While  I  have  no  brief  to  shorten  minis- 
ters' lives,  I  want  to  say  that  the  best  we  can 
do  is  to  put  all  there  is  of  us  into  this  work 
without  regard  to  years.  Let  us  put  a  new 
meaning  into  the  epicurean  motto,  *  While  we 
live,  let  us  live.'  " 

I  read  not  long  ago  the  history  of  the  early 
preachers  of  the  Methodist  Church.  In  the 
first  generation  of  the  Methodist  preachers  in 
New  England  and  New  York  the  average 
length  of  ministerial  service  when  they  came 
to  die  was  eight  years.  They  burned  them- 
selves out  in  eight  short  years.  They  lived  so 
earnestly  for  God  and  wrought  so  well  that  in 
eight  years  their  lives  had  gone  out  by  the 
stress  of  their  toil.  But  you  know,  dear 
friends,  that  the  tables  of  the  actuaries  show 
us  that  now  the  ministers  are  the  best  risks  in 
the  world.  TAy  live  longer  than  any  other 
class  of  men,  and  there  are  people  on  the  out- 
side who  say  that  we  ministers  are  not  only 


The  Price  of  Power  39 

underpaid,  but  that  we  are  underworked.  Of 
course  they  do  not  know  or  they  would  not 
say  that.  I  was  speaking  to  some  labouring 
men  the  other  day  and  I  told  them  that  I  was 
greatly  interested  in  this  matter  of  "eight 
hours  a  day."  That  I  was  so  much  pleased 
with  the  idea  that  I  had  put  two  of  those  days 
into  every  twenty -four  hours  from  the  time  I 
entered  the  ministry.  And  those  labouring 
men  were  not  quite  sure  whether  what  I  had 
said  would  help  or  hurt  their  cause.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  men  need  to  see  that  there  is  no 
toil  of  theirs  that  we  will  not  undertake  ;  that 
we  will  crack  our  sinews  over  the  hard  prob- 
lems of  life,  and  are  willing  to  share  their 
burdens  anywhere  and  everywhere. 


IV 

THE  UNEXPECTED  HARVEST 

It  is  quite  the  fashion  for  ministers  and 
churches  to  look  over  the  condition  of  things 
about  them,  to  enumerate  all  the  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, to  take  notice  of  the  indifference 
of  church  members  and  the  ungodliness  of  the 
people,  and  then  to  say  in  their  hearts,  "  We 
are  not  ripe  for  a  revival.  It  would  be  of  no 
use  to  undertake  special  services.  Months  or 
years  of  preparation  will  be  necessary  to  bring 
this  community  into  a  place  where  any  har- 
vest of  grace  may  be  reasonably  expected." 
Every  age  has  its  prophets  of  the  deluge  and 
they  have  figures  to  show  for  it.  Statistics 
prove  that  drunkenness  and  other  vices  are  on 
the  increase,  and  therefore  sin  is  about  to 
overwhelm  the  community.  There  are  ter- 
rible evils  in  national  life,  in  politics,  in  trade, 
in  social  affairs,  and  they  are  certain  to  over- 
whelm us.  Many  years  ago  the  awful  evils  of 
immigration  were  discussed  in  the  pulpit  and 
we  have  been  discussing  them  ever  since, 
prophesying  all  the  while  the  dire  disasters 
40 


The  Unexpected  Harvest  41 

that  were  to  come  through  immigration  to  our 
people.  In  the  chapel  of  Plymouth  Church  a 
letter  from  one  of  the  greatest  Englishmen  of 
the  last  generation  is  framed,  in  which  he 
utters  his  threnody  over  us  as  a  lost  nation. 
But  the  head  of  our  Bureau  of  Immigration  is 
now  telling  us  that  the  gain  which  comes  thus 
to  our  country  is  immeasurably  greater  than 
any  peril  which  we  face,  and  as  we  look  over 
our  country  which  has  met  the  perils  of  immi- 
gration for  a  hundred  years  and  has  so  over- 
come them  that  the  country  is  richer  and 
nobler  than  any  other  land  that  the  sun  shines 
on,  we  are  fain  to  believe  that  he  has  told  us 
the  truth. 

So  in  the  work  which  we  undertake  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  there  are  results  out  of 
all  proportion  to  time  and  labour  thus  spent 
upon  them,  and  in  spite  of  all  evils  which  yet 
multiply  among  us,  that  come  unexpectedly 
and  gloriously  into  our  lives.  We  do  well  to 
remember  the  words  of  Jesus,  spoken  in  the 
spring-time  in  Samaria, — "  Say  ye  not  there  are 
yet  four  months  and  then  cometh  harvesi  ? 
Behold,  I  say  unto  you,  lift  up  your  eyes  and 
look  on  the  fields,  for  they  are  white  already 
for  the  harvest.'^    The  affirmation  is  that  in 


42      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

spiritual  processes  God  is  a  careless  time- 
keeper, that  harvests  fall  out  of  the  sky  that 
never  slumbered  in  the  furrow,  and  many  a 
hope  bursts  full  blossom  on  the  thorny  stem 
of  time.  "We  do  not  always  remember  that 
all  men  have  a  capacity  for  religion.  It  is  in 
them  already,  we  do  not  have  to  plant  it. 
They  may  be  in  bondage  to  meaner  thoughts, 
but  all  have  hidden  somewhere  noble  purposes 
and  aspirations.  There  is  the  sense  of  God, 
of  duty,  of  accountability,  and  of  a  future  de- 
pendent upon  themselves.  There  is  capacity 
and  a  felt  need.  Let  us  remember  all  this  and 
not  be  over  much  discouraged  when  the  things 
that  are  seen  seem  to  smite  us  in  the  face. 
Granted  that  there  is  a  dearth  of  those  appear- 
ances which  precede  spiritual  harvest.  2^ever- 
theless  let  us  take  down  our  sickles  and  be 
sure  that  they  are  sharp.  The  Samaritan 
country  was  in  the  spring,  but  the  Samaritan 
people  were  ready  to  be  harvested.  Could 
anything  be  more  unlikely  than  that  ?  Look 
at  the  vision  which  fronted  Jesus.  A  woman 
of  abandoned  life  and  a  people  so  like  herself 
that  she  had  not  seriously  lost  caste  among 
them  by  her  deflection  from  virtue.  On  the 
morning  of  that  day  there  seemed  to  be  n< 


The  Unexpected  Harvest  43 

more  hope  of  harvest  in  the  lives  of  that 
people  than  there  would  be  to-day  in  an  East- 
side  brothel.  But  before  night  there  were 
sheaves  a  plenty  among  the  Samaritans ;  and 
the  same  may  be  true  for  us.  Get  ready  for 
the  harvest,  O  reapers  of  God. 

*'  Some  hearts  may  brood  npon  the  past, 
But  ours  with  smiling  futures  glisten. 
Lo,  now  the  dawn  breaks  up  the  sky. 
Lean  out  your  soul  and  listen." 

There  are  many  fields  in  which  this  truth  of 
the  unexpected  harvest  should  gladden  our 
souls.  Well  has  Dr.  Watkinson  said, — "We 
instruct  our  children  and  seek  to  encourage 
them,  but  are  surprised  if  they  evidence  any- 
thing like  a  religious  experience.  A  child  may 
not  understand  theology,  but  it  can  enjoy  re- 
ligion. Go  to  the  child  at  once  with  a 
spiritual  appeal  and  expect  the  spiritual  effect. 
Do  not  talk  of  their  need  of  experience.  Give 
them  a  chance,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to 
see  what  wonderful  fruit  they  will  bear." 
Looking  out  into  any  community,  at  the  aver- 
age men  and  women  that  compose  it,  and  the 
outlook  is  not  hopeful.  But  a  glance  at  his- 
tory will  open  our  eyes,  as  the  eyes  of  the 


44     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

prophet's  servant  were  opened,  to  the  armies 
of  God  that  fight  unnoticed  in  our  behalf. 
Who  could  have  thought  in  the  days  of  the 
Humanists  that  society  would  ripen  faster  in  a 
year  than  it  had  in  a  century  before,  and  that 
the  preaching  of  one  lone  friar  would  in  three 
weeks  make  a  wicked  city  penitent  and  lead  its 
inhabitants  to  build  bonfires  of  their  unholy 
books  and  images  in  the  market-place  ?  For 
that  matter,  we  have  a  history  more  ancient 
still,  in  that  a  great  city  repented  in  sackcloth, 
almost  in  a  moment,  under  the  preaching  of 
him  who  had  so  lately  been  a  renegade 
prophet.  Let  the  miracle  of  Nineveh  encour- 
age any  man's  heart  to-day.  Who  that  reads 
history  could  have  thought  when  Bunyan  went 
to  jail  that  in  a  few  short  years  Puritanism 
would  have  conquered  one  continent  and  built 
another  ?  In  the  days  of  the  Wesleys  many  a 
mob  that  had  come  to  break  their  heads  be- 
came in  a  single  hour  broken-hearted  and 
penitent.  The  church  is  saying  it  is  no  use  to 
expect  results  in  our  cities,  sodden  with  wealth 
and  intoxicated  with  pleasure.  In  that  we  do 
but  dishonour  our  Lord.  One  sight  of  Jesus 
transformed  the  publican,  and  Zaccheus  was 
converted  somewhere  between  the  tree-limb 


The  Unexpected  Harvest  45 

and  the  ground.  We  will  insist  that  there  is 
too  much  of  scepticism  and  that  a  generation 
must  elapse  before  it  can  be  controverted  and 
annihilated.  Paul's  scepticism  was  as  strong 
and  as  well  founded  as  any  of  ours  is  likely  to 
be,  but  it  went  out  under  a  single  flash  of 
light.  One  of  the  greatest  atheists  of  Ger- 
many was  converted  through  the  simple  ques- 
tion, "Was  your  mother  also  an  atheist?" 
We  who  have  worked  much  among  the  de- 
bauched and  the  depraved  ought  never  to  be 
unexpectant  of  a  harvest,  for  have  we  not 
seen  scores  of  men  who  came  into  church  too 
drunk  to  understand,  go  out  sober  and  saved  ? 
In  the  case  of  the  individual  it  is  hard  to  disa- 
buse our  minds  of  the  idea  that  conversion  is 
always  the  result  of  long  meditation,  that  one 
weakness  and  another  must  be  overcome,  one 
sin  and  another  must  be  given  up,  one  truth 
and  another  must  be  lodged  in  the  soul,  and 
then  after  four  months  or  four  years  cometh 
the  harvest.  But  the  transforming  power  of 
a  new  affection  may  burst  upon  the  soul  al- 
ready prepared  by  the  Providence  of  God  and 
the  man  who  has  sown  the  seed  may  yet  be- 
come the  reaper  even  while  he  sows. 

I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  words  of 


46      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

Dr.  Watkinson :  "  Do  you  ask  where  the 
ripening  forces  are  ?  They  have  done  their 
work  already.  The  sun  acts  where  it  does  not 
shine.  The  roots  of  trees  are  vitalized  by  the 
sunshine,  although  they  are  not  bathed  in  it ; 
nay,  gems  hidden  in  the  rock  are  said  to  owe 
their  form  to  solar  radiations.  So  in  the  king- 
dom of  souls  the  light  acts  where  it  does  not 
manifestly  shine.  Go  to  the  youngest  child, 
the  most  illiterate  peasant,  the  most  abandoned 
sinner,  the  most  benighted  pagan,  and  expect 
forthwith  glorious  fruit.  We  are  not  waiting 
for  God,  God  is  waiting  for  us,  and  the  harvest 
is  spoiling  through  our  sloth  and  unbelief." 


V 

THE  YEARNING  SOUL 

In  the  work  we  have  to  do,  the  transfusing 
power  of  a  mighty  love  is  absolutely  essential. 
We  quote  the  words  of  Knox,  "  Give  me  Scot- 
land, or  I  die,"  and  there  is  a  sound  in  it  that 
rather  appeals  to  the  heroic,  but  Scotland  is  a 
long  way  off  and  we  read  of  the  "  Killing  Time  " 
with  great  complacency,  for  there  is  no  risk  of 
life  or  limb  in  the  easy  faith  which  we  profess. 
It  seems  strange  that  it  ever  cost  so  much  to 
win,  and  we  say,  "  How  changed  things  are. 
How  much  easier  it  is  now  to  advance  the 
kingdom  of  God."  But  in  that  we  are  mis- 
taken. It  is  only  when  a  man  can  say  and 
mean  it, — "  Give  me,  or  I  die,"  that  the  yearn- 
ing has  irresistible  power.  Never  until  one 
realizes  the  value  of  a  soul  and  the  price  at 
which  it  was  purchased,  and  never  until  a  love 
as  intense  and  personal  as  that  of  a  brother 
burns  in  our  soul  shall  we  be  much  used  in  the 
saving  of  the  lost.  The  Bible  pulses  tumul- 
tuously  with  that  yearning.  Eemember  all 
47 


48      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

that  Moses  had  given  up  for  the  slaves  he  had 
set  free ;  recall  how  he  had  suffered  at  their 
hands  for  all  his  service  and  self-renunciation, 
and  then  listen  to  this  prayer, — "  Oh,  this  peo- 
ple have  sinned  a  great  sin  and  have  made 
them  gods  of  gold.  Yet  now,  if  thou  wilt 
forgive  their  sin ;  and  if  not,  blot  me,  I  pray 
thee,  out  of  thy  book  which  thou  hast  written." 
Well  may  we  be  ashamed  if  we  can  see  our 
people  before  their  gods  of  gold  and  go  on  in 
snug  complacency,  drawing  comfortable  sal- 
aries and  they  rejoicing  in  the  wages  of  un- 
righteousness. How  perfectly  the  spirit  of 
Moses  was  duplicated  in  the  heart  of  Paul. 
Hear  him  say,  "  I  caught  myself  wishing — 
praying — that  I  were  accursed  from  Christ  for 
my  brethren,  my  kinsmen,  according  to  the 
flesh."  What  a  phrase  that  is,  "  I  caught  my- 
self wishing.  I  discovered  my  ruling  passion 
— the  soul  breaking  into  the  processes  of  the 
mind."  Whatever  garment  his  mind  was 
wearing,  another  thread  comes  into  view.  We 
often  catch  ourselves  in  the  most  solemn  serv- 
ice, thinking  of  the  worldly  and  the  selfish, 
but  here  is  a  surprise  of  another  sort.  It  was 
not  a  cool  calculation,  a  deduction  of  logic 
after  the  examination  of  all  the  premises,  it 


The  Yearning  Soul  49 

was  the  cry  of  his  real  self,  a  heart  note  which 
smothered  every  other,  and  to  which  he  had 
to  listen.  If  we  had  the  passion  for  Christ 
which  he  had  we  should  soon  be  sharers  of 
St.  Paul's  passion  for  men.  What  must  be  our 
feeling  in  the  day  when  all  things  are  revealed 
and  we  recall  our  stolid  ease  amid  the  crying 
of  the  wrecked  and  lost. 

**  The  lost  days  of  my  life  until  to-day, 

What  were  they,  could  I  see  them  on  the  street 
Lie  as  they  fell  ?    Would  they  be  ears  of  wheat 

Sown  once  for  food,  but  trodden  into  clay  ? 

Or  golden  coin  squandered  and  still  to  pay  ? 
Or  drops  of  blood  dabbling  the  guilty  feet  ? 
Or  such  spilt  water  as  in  dreams  must  cheat 

The  throats  of  men  in  hell  who  thirst  alway  ? 
I  do  not  see  them  here,  but  after  death 
God  knows  I  know  the  faces  I  shall  see." 

Paul  knew  the  awfulness  of  sin,  not  simply 
in  its  punishment  but  especially  in  itself.  He 
knew  there  was  only  one  way  to  escape  its 
awful  death,  and  that  was  through  Jesus 
Christ,  the  lover  and  Saviour  of  men.  So  when 
he  saw  his  brethren  turning  away  from  their 
only  hope,  his  mind  was  fairly  bewildered  by 
its  agony,  and  he  was  fain  to  throw  himself 
into  the  chasm  if  they  thereby  might  pass  by 
him  to  life.     The  British  Weekly  in  a  recent 


£0     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

editorial  on  this  theme  sounds  a  warning 
note : — 

"  We  would  not  for  a  moment  speak  unchar- 
itably, but  the  question  often  rises  whether 
preachers  have  any  purpose  or  any  desire,  or 
any  dream  of  bringing  souls  to  Christ  by  the 
sermons  they  preach.  We  have  known  men 
to  sneer  at  the  idea  that  the  Church  was  a 
soul-saving  organization.  It  is  possible  to  be- 
little the  great  idea  of  salvation,  but  those  who 
understand  it  in  the  I^ew  Testament  sense  will 
perceive  that  if  the  Church  is  not  a  soul-saving 
organization,  it  can  never  be  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Souls  cannot  be  won  without 
travail,  without  prayer,  without  expostulation, 
and  pleading  that  come  from  the  heart,  with- 
out the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Only  those 
who  must  have  them  will  have  them." 

How  the  heart  of  the  stern  prophet  melts, 
and  there  are  tears  in  his  voice  as  Hosea  cries, 
— "  0  Ephraim,  what  shall  I  do  with  thee  ? 
How  shall  I  give  thee  up  ?  "  There  is  infinite 
yearning  in  his  soul  as  he  says,  "  Come  and  let 
us  return  unto  the  Lord,  for  He  hath  torn  and 
He  will  heal  us  ;  He  hath  smitten  and  He  will 
bind  us  up."  And  Ezekiel,  meditating  upon 
lost  Israel,  dead  long  since  in  its  sin,  gives 


The  Yearning  Soul  51 

voice  to  his  yearning  and  prophesies  to  the 
valley  of  dry  bones, — "  O  ye  dry  bones,  hear 
the  word  of  the  Lord.  I  will  put  my  spirit  in 
you  and  ye  shall  live."  It  is  Isaiah  who  cries, 
"  For  Zion's  sake  will  I  not  hold  my  peace  and 
for  Jerusalem's  sake  I  will  not  rest,  until  her 
righteousness  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  her 
salvation  as  a  lamp  that  burneth."  We  need 
prophets  to-day  and  we  shall  have  the  pro- 
phetic vision  and  the  prophetic  message  when 
we  have  the  prophetic  yearning.  What  Ab- 
saloms  there  are  in  our  Israel  I  We  need  as 
deep  a  yearning  as  David's  and  to  a  better 
purpose  ;  and  that,  too,  before  it  is  too  late :  — 

"  From  the  ages  that  are  past 
The  voice  comes  like  a  blast, 
Over  seas  that  wreck  and  drown, 
Over  tumult  of  traffic  and  town, 
And  from  ages  yet  to  be 
Come  the  echoes  back  to  me. 
O  Absalom,  my  son." 

As  I  look  into  my  own  heart  I  marvel  that 
I  am  not  more  moved  by  the  awful  devasta- 
tion and  the  abundant  remedy  that  is  within 
my  reach.  But  I  am  constantly  praying  that 
my  own  heart  may  be  more  deeply  stirred  and 
spiritually  passionate. 


52      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

"  It  is  by  the  medicine  of  a  living  soul  that 
dead  souls  are  brought  to  life."  It  is  the 
prophet,  stretching  himself  upon  the  widow's 
child,  with  his  face  to  the  child's  face  and  his 
heart  to  the  child's  heart,  who  brings  the  child 
to  life.  So  there  is  nothing  to  warm  a  soul 
like  another  soul  that  is  aglow. 

We  owe  a  great  debt  and  it  is  long  overdue. 
"I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  Bar- 
barians," said  Paul.  What  had  he  received  of 
them?  Absolutely  nothing.  But  he  had 
what  they  needed  and  must  have,  and  he  was 
their  debtor  until  he  had  met  that  need. 
We  have  in  our  hand  a  pardon  for  a  man  con- 
demned, and  we  are  his  debtor  until  we  put  it 
into  his  hand.  It  was  for  that  purpose  that 
we  received  it  and  with  it  went  the  message. 
Go  quick  everywhere  I  If  we  have  superior 
faith,  knowledge  or  power,  we  owe  a  debt  to 
those  who  have  less  or  none,  and  we  cannot 
ease  a  burdened  soul  until  we  discharge  our 
obligation. 

In  his  little  book,  "  The  Passion  for  Souls," 
J.  H.  Jowett  has  a  chapter  on  "The  Disciples' 
Sacrifice,"  which  is  so  clear  and  forceful  that 
we  are  glad  to  quote  from  it  at  length. 
"  Here  then,"  he  says,  "  is  a  principle,  The  gos- 


The  Yearning  Soul  53 

pel  of  a  broken  heart  demands  the  ministry  of 
bleeding  hearts.  When  our  sympathy  loses 
its  pang,  we  can  no  longer  be  the  servants  of 
the  passion.  ...  I  am  amazed  how  easily 
I  become  callous.  I  am  ashamed  how  small 
and  unsensitive  is  the  surface  I  present  to  the 
needs  and  sorrows  of  the  world.  ^Why  do 
you  wish  to  return  ? '  I  asked  a  noble  young 
missionary  who  had  been  invalided  home. 
^  Because  I  can't  sleep  for  thinking  of  them.* 
But  my  brother,  except  when  I  spend  a  day 
with  my  Lord,  the  trend  of  my  life  is  quite 
another  way,  I  cannot  think  about  them  be- 
cause I  am  so  inclined  to  sleep  I  A  benumb- 
ment  settles  down  upon  my  spirit  and  the 
pangs  of  the  world  awake  no  corresponding 
sympathy.  We  can  never  heal  the  needs  we 
do  not  feel.  Tearless  hearts  can  never  be  the 
heralds  of  the  Passion.  We  must  pity  if  we 
would  redeem.  We  must  bleed  if  we  would 
be  the  ministers  of  the  saving  blood." 

There  come  to  us  from  missionary  fields  such 
expressions  of  self-denying  devotion  as  shame 
us  in  our  ease.  But  the  work  in  mission  fields 
is  the  same  that  is  ours  at  home.  It  is  the 
evangel.  If  missions  have  succeeded  better 
than  the  home  work,  it  has  been  simply  be- 


54     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

cause  of  the  supreme  devotion  which  has  been 
put  into  it.  When  Henry  Martin  reached 
India,  he  made  this  record  in  his  journal :  "  I 
desire  to  burn  out  for  my  God."  James  Han- 
nington  could  not  be  crushed  by  mountains  of 
opposition,  but  cried,  "  I  refuse  to  be  disap- 
pointed. I  will  only  praise."  At  the  end  of 
long  years  of  toil,  James  Chalmers  said,  "  Ee- 
call  the  twent3''-one  years,  give  me  back  all  its 
experiences  ;  give  me  its  shipwrecks,  give  me 
its  standings  in  the  face  of  death,  give  it  me 
surrounded  with  savages  with  spears  and  clubs, 
give  it  me  back  again  with  spears  flying  about 
me,  with  the  clubs  knocking  me  to  the 
ground, — give  it  me  back,  and  I  will  still  be 
your  missionary."  So  those  holy  men  failed 
not  in  the  mighty  yearning  of  their  soul,  but 
with  an  ardour  for  men  which  never  failed 
they  came  to  their  coronation  and  brought 
with  them  gems  for  their  crown. 

But  there  is  One  who  is  our  example  and 
inspiration  beyond  all  prophets,  apostles  and 
martyrs.  To  Him  let  us  turn.  When  His 
disciples  saw  Him  in  the  temple,  there  was  one 
passage  out  of  the  prophets  which  sprang  to 
every  lip,  "  The  zeal  of  Thy  house  hath 
EATEN    me    up."    The    Master's  eyes   were 


The  Yearning  Soul  55 

flashing,  all  sense  of  fear  and  shame  had 
melted  as  the  mist  melts  in  the  fierce  sun. 
The  desecration  and  desolation  of  the  Father's 
House  set  every  nerve  athrill.  That  was  the 
beginning  of  His  Messianic  ministry,  and  He 
kept  up  that  pace  until  His  all-consuming  zeal 
brought  Him  to  the  cross.  He  had  no  heart  in 
anything  but  His  mission.  His  meat  and 
drink  were  to  do  God's  will.  His  disciples 
understood  His  power  and  could  never  shake 
off  the  impelling  force  of  His  zeal.  The  last 
words  that  He  spoke  were  hot  with  haste. 
They  felt  that  He  demanded  every  day  of 
them  what  they  had  seen  every  day  in  Him, 
and  to  that  high  devotion  they  yielded  them- 
selves until  they  overcame  every  opposition  of 
the  pagan  world  and  overthrew  their  temples 
and  their  gods.  His  life  was  a  life  of  yearn, 
ing  and  it  could  be  compressed  into  a  single 
sentence,  "He  had  a  passion  for  saving  the 
lost."  There  is  a  depth  of  meaning  in  the 
words  of  Thomas  Goodwin  :  "  God  had  only 
one  son,  and  He  made  Him  a  minister."  How 
gloriously  did  He  fulfill  that  ministry  until  He 
had  watered  every  ledge  by  sea  and  mountain 
with  His  tears,  moistened  the  olive  leaves  of 
Gethsemane  with  the  sweat  of  His  soul  and 


56     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

stained  His  own  brow  with  the  blood  of  His 
passion  and  broke  His  heart  upon  a  cross  of 
shame.  He  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but 
to  minister  and  to  give  His  life.  He  was  a  man 
of  infinite  pity  and  of  tears.  If  any  man  is 
ashamed  to  weep  over  the  people,  he  is  not 
like  his  Master.  He  bore  the  marks  of  His 
anxieties.  Once  the  Jews  made  a  guess  at 
His  age.  They  put  Him  near  fifty.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  He  was  near  thirty.  What  He 
announced  at  the  beginning  of  His  life  as  His 
program  He  kept  up  to  the  end.  He  went 
about  His  Father's  business  and  He  was  sore 
straitened  until  His  baptism  of  service  should 
be  accomplished.  It  is  said  that  Democritus 
never  came  out  of  doors  that  he  did  not  incon- 
tinently burst  into  laughter,  so  foolish  did  men 
appear  to  him.  But  Jesus  saw  men  in  sin  and 
misery  and  want  and  pain,  and  yearned  so  to 
help  them  that  He  sobbed  in  anguish, — "  How 
oft  would  I  have  gathered  thee — but  ye  would 
not." 

Here,  then,  is  our  supreme  example  of  the 
yearning  soul,  and  we  are  called  like  Paul  to 
"  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  suffering  of 
Christ."  His  work  is  accomplished,  but  that 
story  needs  a  teller, — that  gospel  needs  an 


The  Yearning  Soul  57 

evangelist  and  the  call  is  to  us.  Our  heart 
must  know  something  of  His  agony.  Paul 
was  so  anxious  over  those  committed  to  his 
care  that  he  used  a  figure  of  speech  that  is 
incomparable, — "  My  little  children,  of  whom 
I  travail  in  birth  again  till  Christ  be  formed  in 
you,"  and  so  he  followed  in  His  footsteps  of 
whom  it  was  prophesied,  "  He  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  His  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied." 

Brethren,  if  we  are  sometimes  tired  and 
spent  in  the  agony  of  our  yearning,  let  us  re- 
member that  it  is  the  price  which  hath  been 
paid  by  the  holy  prophets  and  by  the  Son  of 
God,  and  when  the  soul  so  travails  it  shall 
bring  forth  a  new  life,  both  for  itself  and  for 
the  Church  of  God. 


VI 

PERSONAL  EVANGELISM 

We  are  now  come  to  the  very  citadel  of  soul- 
winning.  Here  is  the  entrance  into  the  full 
reward  of  evangelistic  effort.  Looking  over 
many  years  of  splendid  opportunity  with  the 
privilege  of  addressing  thousands  of  people 
every  Sunday,  I  find  that  I  have  won  more  to 
decide  for  Christ  in  their  homes  and  offices 
than  at  the  altars  of  the  church,  and  in  this 
hand  to  hand  work  there  have  come  to  my 
own  soul  the  sweetest  rewards  of  my  ministry. 
I  have  to  confess  that  I  came  to  this  work 
with  great  trepidation  of  spirit.  It  required  a 
greater  struggle  for  me  to  undertake  it  than 
any  other  part  of  my  pastoral  duties.  I  have 
many  a  time  walked  around  a  whole  city 
block  before  I  could  get  courage  to  ring  a 
door-bell  and  make  my  errand  known.  But 
an  errand  persevered  in  under  such  circum- 
stances was  generally  successful. 

This  method  is  the  effective  answer  to  the 
plea  that  the  unconverted  will  not  come  to 
revival  meetings.  [Among  those  who  have 
^58 


Personal  Evangelism  59 

come  to  Christ  through  personal  appeal  I  have 
found  many  of  superior  parts,  persons  of  fine 
sensibilities  and  deeply  conscientious.  After 
passing  many  revival  seasons  they  became 
averse  to  putting  themselves  where  they  would 
be  uncomfortable  and  possibly  singled  out  by 
various  tests  which  evangelists  are  wont  to 
apply.  It  is  highly  probable  that  they  would 
have  continued  to  avoid  such  meetings  and 
have  come  to  the  end  of  life  unsaved.  Indeed, 
I  have  found  many  persons  who  have  passed 
through  the  faithful  pastorate  of  men  of  God 
and  have  said  that  nothing  but  personal  and 
private  eifort  would  have  prevailed  upon  them 
to  make  public  confession  of  their  allegiance 
to  Christ.  I  have  found  this  straightforward 
method  of  appeal  most  effective  with  men. )  It 
is  better  in  most  cases  to  be  absolutely  frank 
as  to  one's  purpose.  There  may  be  some  cases 
where  a  letter  will  do  good,  or  where  the  mat- 
ter of  beginning  a  Christian  life  can  be  brought 
in  incidentally,  but  I  much  prefer  the  open, 
manly  method.  It  was  a  favourite  plan  of 
Dr.  J.  O.  Peck  to  get  a  man  to  enlarge  upon 
his  business  and  explain  its  method  and  de- 
tails, and  then  to  say  to  him,  "  You  can  teach 
me  in  these  things,  but  there  is  one  thing  in 


6o      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

which  I  can  instruct  you.  I  have  listened  to 
you  while  you  explained  your  business.  Now 
I  want  you  to  listen  to  me  while  I  tell  you  of 
the  way  in  which  you  can  be  saved.  Will  you 
let  me  teach  you  ?  " 

In  one  of  my  pastorates  was  a  man  with 
a  large  and  interesting  family.  The  wife  and 
children  were  members  of  the  Church  and  he 
was  not.  He  had  come  to  the  city  as  a  young 
man,  absolutely  penniless.  From  a  humble 
position  as  clerk  in  a  furniture  store  he  ad- 
vanced by  energy  and  thrift  until  he  was  able 
to  start  a  little  business  of  his  own.  His  wife 
worked  with  him,  and  at  night  he  delivered 
with  a  wheelbarrow  the  goods  he  had  sold 
during  the  day.  His  advance  in  business  was 
rapid,  and  when  I  knew  him  he  had  a  large 
building  five  stories  high  packed  with  furni- 
ture, on  which  he  did  not  owe  a  dollar.  He 
delighted  to  tell  me  of  his  early  struggles, 
and  asked  me  to  come  and  look  over  his  plant. 
I  took  the  invitation  as  a  call  from  God  and 
went.  From  the  basement  we  went  up,  story 
after  story,  to  the  top  of  the  building,  he,  tell- 
ing me  in  substance  as  we  reached  each  land- 
ing,— "  Is  not  this  great  Babylon  which  I  have 
builded,"  and  I  wondering  when  it  would  be 


Personal  Evangelism  6 1 

best  for  me  to  give  the  prophet's  message.  At 
last  we  reached  the  top  floor.  It  was  crowded 
with  refrigerators,  but  my  heart  was  hot. 
"  You  say  this  is  all  yours.  You  do  not  owe 
a  dollar.  Once  you  were  poor.  You  have 
had  splendid  health  while  your  nearest  com- 
petitor sickened  and  died.  His  wife  was  in- 
sane, while  yours  has  helped  you  at  every 
turn.  You  say  your  competitor  was  your 
superior  in  training  and  experience,  but  things 
were  against  him.  So  it  seems  that  the  great- 
est factor  in  this  success  has  been,  not  your- 
self, but  God.  He  gave  you  health  and  a  good 
wife  and  fortunate  surroundings.  What  have 
you  ever  done  to  show  your  gratitude  ?  You 
do  not  even  ask  a  blessing  at  the  loaded  table 
in  your  elegant  home, — much  less  call  your 
children  about  you  for  family  prayers.  So  far 
as  they  would  know,  you  absolutely  disown 
Him  who  has  crowned  your  life  with  success. 
Is  such  a  course  manly  or  honest?  And  if 
not,  about  how  long  do  you  plan  to  keep  it 
up  ?  "  There  was  silence  in  the  refrigerator 
loft,  and  the  strong  man  was  moved.  Then  I 
said  tenderly,  "  I  am  persuaded  better  things 
of  you.  We  are  here  alone.  Isn't  it  a  good 
time    to    settle    this   great    question?"    He 


62      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

looked  me  full  in  the  eye  for  a  moment,  then 
reaching  over  a  low  refrigerator  that  stood  be- 
tween us  he  took  my  hand  in  a  vise-like  grip 
and  said,  "  I  never  saw  it  that  way  before. 
If  God  will  forgive  me,  I  will  own  Him  before 
the  world  and  serve  Him  as  long  as  I  live." 
I  came  around  to  his  side  of  the  refrigerator 
and  we  knelt  on  the  bare  floor  and  prayed  to- 
gether. The  ice  was  all  melted,  and  there 
were  scalding  tears  on  his  cheeks.  He  kept 
his  word,  and  that  day  is  a  good  day  for  me 
to  recall  when  the  fire  burns  low. 

Another  incident  of  personal  work  I  wish  to 
relate  because  of  the  wide  spiritual  effect  which 
came  from  it,  and  because  of  a  solemn  promise 
which  I  have  not  failed  to  keep  unto  this  day. 
In  this  I  shall  give  the  names  and  place,  for 
that  is  a  part  of  my  promise. 

One  Monday,  during  my  seven  years'  pas- 
torate at  Hanson  Place,  Brooklyn,  a  young 
man  came  to  the  parsonage  somewhat  under 
the  influence  of  liquor.  He  seemed  to  be  anx- 
ious to  do  better.  He  asked  an  opportunity 
to  sign  the  pledge,  and  just  as  I  was  about  to 
pray  with  him,  the  door-bell  rang.  As  I 
opened  the  door  a  fine  appearing  young  man 
stood  on  the  step  and  asked  if  he  could  have  a 


Personal  Evangelism  63 

moment's  private  conversation  with  me.  We 
went  to  the  back  parlor  and  he  said, — "  1  was 
at  your  service  last  night,  and  if  I  understood 
you  correctly,  you  said  in  substance  that  the 
example  of  a  man  of  upright  life  who  did  not 
acknowledge  Christ  might  in  some  ways  do 
more  harm  to  young  men  than  a  drunkard  in 
the  gutter.  I  wish  to  know  if  you  meant  that, 
for  I  slept  little  last  night  on  account  of  what 
you  said.  I  mean  to  be  upright,  and  I  have 
never  acknowledged  Christ."  I  then  explained 
to  him  that  a  man  who  depended  upon  his 
morality  was  really  saying  to  every  young 
man  that  Christ  was  not  a  necessity  in  any 
successful  and  well-ordered  life,  and  so  might 
turn  many  away  from  the  Christian  life. 
What  I  said  seemed  to  impress  him,  and  he 
told  me  his  story.  He  said  he  was  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Sunday-school  in  Cuyler  Chapel, 
and  he  could  not  bear  to  think  that  in  such  a 
position  he  could  be  doing  harm  by  his  ex- 
ample. He  said,  "  What  need  I  yet,  and  is 
there  any  reality  to  this  *  experiencing  religion ' 
of  which  I  hear  you  speak  ?  "  I  said  to  him, 
as  I  have  said  to  others  before  him, — "  There 
is  a  reality,  and  I  am  so  convinced  of  it  that  I 
will  give  up  the  ministry  if  you  do  not  your- 


64      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

self  experience  it,  provided  you  will  meet  the 
conditions."  I  then  called  the  man  in  the 
other  room  and  after  introducing  them  I  said, 
— "  You  are  both  here  on  the  same  errand, 
though  you  have  come  by  very  different  paths. 
Wide  apart  as  you  are  socially,  it  is  the  same 
experience  which  you  both  need,  and  it  must 
come  to  each  of  you  by  full  surrender  to  God." 
I  asked  them  to  kneel  with  me  in  prayer.  I 
prayed  earnestly  for  each  of  them  by  name, 
and  was  greatly  moved  as  I  prayed.  The 
profligate  followed  with  a  publican's  prayer, 
and  as  he  prayed  the  fashion  of  his  counte- 
nance was  changed.  He  felt  that  he  was  par- 
doned for  the  past,  and  before  he  finished 
praying  he  began  to  praise  God.  It  was  dif- 
ferent with  Andrew  Herlin,  the  gentlemanly 
bank  clerk.  I  do  not  think  he  quite  liked  it  to 
kneel  there  with  the  profligate  and  seek  for 
mercy  on  the  same  terms.  There  was  some- 
thing of  the  Pharisee's  spirit  which  he  strug- 
gled hard  to  keep  out  of  sight.  He  grew  a 
little  humbler  as  he  proceeded,  and  seemed 
almost  frightened  at  the  sound  of  his  own 
voice  in  prayer.  When  he  finished,  I  offered 
a  short  prayer  and  we  arose.  The  first  man 
was  radiant,  but  Herlin  was  evidently  in  great 


Personal  Evangelism  65 

perturbation  of  spirit.  "  Any  light  ?  "  I  asked. 
"  I  hardly  know.  I  do  not  feel  like  this  man, 
but  there  is  something  strange  about  it.  I 
must  know  more."  I  made  the  way  of  faith 
as  plain  as  I  could  and  we  separated  after  he 
promised  to  come  to  the  parsonage  after  bank 
hours  the  next  day.  He  kept  his  promise.  I 
saw  evidences  that  the  fog  was  lifting,  but  he 
was  not  yet  at  peace.  "We  prayed  together  as 
he  stood  at  the  door.  He  pressed  my  hand 
and  smiled,  but  said  nothing.  There  were  two 
similar  interviews  before  the  full  assurance 
came.  He  had  said,  "  I  can  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  but  absolute  assurance,"  and  at  last  he 
had  what  Thomas  found.  It  multiplied  my 
own  faith  to  see  him.  There  was  little  of  the 
emotional  about  him,  but  his  feet  had  touched 
the  Kock. 

For  two  weeks  I  did  not  see  him.  One  day 
a  messenger  came  hurrying  to  me  and  said 
that  Herlin  had  passed  away.  He  was  taken 
with  a  sudden  hemorrhage  and  after  a  few  days' 
sickness  was  dead.  He  said  the  father  had  a 
message  for  me,  and  this  was  his  message. 
"  Tell  Dr.  Goodell,"  said  the  dying  man,  "  that 
I  was  never  able  to  go  to  the  Chapel  and  tell 
the  young  people  how  I  found  Jesus  and  ask 


66      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

them  to  forgive  me  for  being  a  stumbling 
block  in  their  way  so  long.  I  want  to  be 
buried  from  the  Chapel,  and  I  want  him  to 
stand  by  me  and  say  for  me  what  I  would 
have  said  if  I  had  been  permitted.  And  I 
wish  you  would  ask  him  for  the  sake  of  other 
young  men  who  are  morally  good  but  do  not 
know  Christ,  to  please  tell  my  story  each  year 
at  his  revival  meetings."  I  may  add  that  this 
last  request  has  been  religiously  kept  to  this 
day. 

When  the  day  of  the  funeral  was  come,  I 
went  to  the  service  from  another  meeting  and 
was  a  little  late.  The  Chapel  was  crowded  to 
the  street.  It  was  only  after  I  was  recognized 
that  I  was  able  to  press  my  way  through  the 
crowd  and  reach  the  casket.  ITever  in  my 
life  had  I  stood  quite  so  literally  between  the 
living  and  the  dead.  And  never  had  I  been 
more  overwhelmed  with  the  message  that  I 
bore.  I  found  that  Herlin  was  universally  re- 
spected and  beloved.  He  had  been  a  leader 
by  virtue  of  his  ability  and  spotless  character. 
I  told  the  simple  story  of  his  conversion  to  the 
hundreds  of  young  people  who  had  loved  him, 
and  delivered  to  them  his  thrilling  message. 
The  great  company,  the  banks  of  flowers,  the 


Personal  Evangelism  67 

white  face  among  them,  and  the  deeply  per- 
sonal message  all  combined  to  make  the  hour 
one  of  the  most  impressive  of  a  lifetime.  But 
one  thing  could  happen.  A  revival  began  at 
once  among  the  young  people  and  went  on  un- 
til the  great  majority  of  them  had  yielded 
themselves  to  Christ.  Though  years  have 
passed,  the  pastor  recently  told  me  that  the 
influence  of  Herlin's  testimony  was  still  felt 
throughout  the  community.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  this  bit  of  personal  effort  has 
been  blessed  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  hun- 
dreds of  young  men,  and  I  put  it  here  in  per- 
manent form  in  the  hope  that  it  may  still  be 
blessed  in  its  message  to  such  young  men  as 
Jesus  loved,  and  as  an  encouragement  to  per- 
sonal, every-day  evangelism. 

Every  earnest  worker  in  the  personal  method 
has  scores  of  such  cases  as  I  have  presented  as 
seals  to  his  ministry.  Dr.  Cuyler  said  of  the 
three  thousand  souls  build  ed  unto  his  church, 
"  I  have  handled  every  stone."  It  may  seem 
like  wasting  time  for  a  man  of  large  concern 
to  spend  a  whole  evening  with  one  soul,  but 
believe  me,  there  is  nothing  that  is  more  ac- 
cording to  the  method  of  Jesus,  and  nothing 
that  pays  so  well.    I  knew  a  pastor  who  gave 


68     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

up  a  paid  engagement  in  order  that  he  might 
visit  and  help  a  family  where  he  found  a  wife 
and  child  trembling  in  the  corner  and  a  hus- 
band on  his  back  upon  the  floor,  amusing  him- 
self by  throwing  the  sofa  in  the  air.  The  re- 
sult of  that  visit  was  the  salvation  of  the  man. 
In  less  than  a  year  he  who  had  been  kept  from 
starving  by  the  charity  of  the  Church  was  in 
receipt  of  a  salary  of  $1,800,  and  had  a  pleas- 
ant home  and  happy  wife  and  children.  Is 
there  anything  that  pays  better  earthly  divi- 
dends ?  If  a  millionaire  had  invited  thee  to 
his  home,  wouldst  thou  not  have  gone  ?  How 
much  rather  carry  the  bread  of  life  to  a  starv- 
ing soul  ? 

We  speak  of  the  pulpit  power  of  Spurgeon, 
but  few  men  realize  that  his  success  was  after 
all  the  success  of  personal  effort.  For  forty 
years  in  London  he  averaged  one  convert  a 
day, — an  almost  unparalleled  record  of  stead- 
fast devotion.  Bishop  McDowell  tells  of  a 
young  minister  who  went  home  from  his  con- 
ference to  put  into  practice  the  personal 
method.  He  reached  the  charge  on  Tuesday. 
Wednesday  he  went  down  street  and  into  a 
bank.  The  president  was  not  a  Christian, 
though  his  wife  was.    The  pastor  had  told 


Personal  Evangelism  69 

them  that  he  did  not  expect  to  return.  The 
president  reminded  him  of  it  when  he  came  in. 
Then  all  at  once  it  came  over  this  young  pastor 
that  if  he  would  win  a  hundred  souls  this  must 
probably  be  one  of  them.  Why  not  begin  at 
once?  He  turned  to  the  president  of  the 
bank  and  said, — "I  did  not  want  to  come 
back,  but  I  must  have  come  for  some  good 
purpose.  Possibly  I  have  come  back  on  your 
account."  There  was  something  in  his  tone 
that  had  not  been  in  it  before.  To  his  sur- 
prise the  president  changed  tone  and  replied 
with  manifest  feeling :  "  May  be  you  have." 
Inside  of  five  minutes  they  were  on  their  knees 
together  in  that  office,  and  a  man  was  won  to 
Christ.  Before  Christmas  that  young  pastor 
had  won  seventy-eight  of  the  hundred  for 
whom  he  began  at  Conference  to  pray. 

At  the  close  of  an  address  upon  Evangelism 
I  was  asked  by  a  clergyman, — "  If  this  matter 
of  which  you  speak  is  so  important,  why  is  it 
that  Kobertson  of  Brighton  and  Phillips 
Brooks,  the  two  men  who  have  most  stamped 
themselves  upon  the  religious  life  of  two  con- 
tinents, had  none  of  it  ?  "  I  was  pleased  to 
quote  to  him  the  words  of  Kobertson's  best 
biographer  that  the  secret  of  his  power  was  in 


yo     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

the  warm,  emotional  piety  which  he  found 
among  the  evangelicals  of  his  early  life,  and 
the  force  of  which  sent  him  out  to  be  a  prac- 
tical, personal  worker  among  the  poor  of 
Brighton.  He  himself  said, — "  It  is  visitation 
of  the  poor  which  more  than  anything  else 
brings  a  man  into  contact  with  the  actual  and 
the  real,  and  destroys  fanciful  dreams."  His 
biographers  say  of  him :  "  The  rough  and  poor 
people  of  the  parish  among  whom  he  laboured 
faithfully  made  themselves  over  to  him  at 
once."  Kobertson  was  a  great  letter  writer. 
And  what  letters  they  were  I  So  full  of  sym- 
pathy, so  delicate  and  tender,  turning  the  at- 
tention of  the  cross-bearing  and  the  bereft  to 
Christ  "  who  feels  now  what  we  feel  and  can 
impart  to  us  the  blessedness  of  His  sympathy." 
No  man  who  knew  Phillips  Brooks  would 
deny  him  a  place  among  those  who  were  the 
bearers  of  the  personal  evangel.  I  was  a  pas- 
tor near  him  for  eight  years  and  am  unspeak- 
ably his  debtor  for  his  personal  attention.  To 
my  personal  knowledge  scores  of  unconverted 
men  and  scores  of  students,  wrestling  with  the 
great  problems  of  the  Christian  life,  found 
their  way  to  his  study  and  came  out  content. 


Personal  Evangelism  71 

When  his  friends  remonstrated  with  him  over 
the  sacrifice  of  his  time  to  such  callers,  his 
answer  was  :  "  The  man  who  wishes  to  see 
me  is  the  man  I  wish  to  see." 


YII 

LAYMEN  IN   EVANGELISM 

It  will  be  well  for  the  Church  when  it 
comes  really  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  there 
are  not  two  kinds  of  religion,  one  for  the  pul- 
pit and  one  for  the  pew,  but  that  the  same 
principle  of  service  and  self-denial  relates  alike 
to  preachers,  lay  or  clerical.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  Episcopal  Club  of  Boston,  Dean  Hodges 
of  the  Cambridge  Divinity  School,  spoke  in 
the  following  striking  terms  of  the  leadership 
of  laymen  in  historic  religious  awakenings : 
"  There  have  been  three  notable  periods  in  the 
history  of  the  extension  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion— the  time  of  the  martyrs,  the  time  of 
the  monks  and  the  time  of  the  Methodists. 
In  each  of  these  periods,  religion  spread  phe- 
nomenally. The  significance  of  each  of  these 
for  our  present  purpose  is  that  each  of  them 
was  an  era  of  lay  activity^  The  Christian 
Church  was  begun  by  laymen;  the  apostles 
were  all  laymen.  It  has  ever  since  owed  its 
best  growth  to  the  cooperation  of  laymen. 
The  monks  were  lay  orders.  The  Methodists 
72 


Laymen  in  Evangelism  73 

won  their  great  victories  by  lay  preaching. 
Not  only  that,  but  these  laymen  in  every  one 
of  these  three  periods  did  their  work  in  spite 
of  the  clergy,  discouraged  by  the  clergy,  de- 
tested by  the  clergy."  We  are  glad  to  believe 
that  this  arraignment  of  the  clergy  is  no  longer 
true,  but  that  on  the  other  hand  our  pastors 
are  impressed  by  the  fact  that  if  any  great 
work  is  accomplished  towards  the  uplift  of  the 
community,  laymen  must  give  themselves  to 
it.  There  are  not  far  from  a  hundred  thou- 
sand pastors  in  our  country  in  active  service, 
but  there  are  more  than  a  hundred  times  as 
many  members  whose  solemn  pledge  and 
gracious  opportunity  demand  that  they  shall 
make  full  proof  of  their  devotion.  Pastors 
come  and  go,  but  the  membership  as  a  body 
stays  on.  They  give  direction  to  the  work  of 
the  Church.  Nay  more,  they  are  responsible 
for  the  work  of  the  pulpit,  for  a  preacher  can- 
not long  do  a  work  in  which  his  people  have 
no  heart,  and  to  which  they  refuse  to  give 
their  toil.  "Why  should  a  pastor  try  to  pull 
the  load  of  a  sleeping  and  unresponsive  Church 
when  his  call  is  to  reach  the  world  by  the 
cooperation  of  his  own  people?  When  the 7 
elder  Beecher  was  pastor  at  Park  Street,  Bos- 


74     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

ton,  some  one  asked  him  the  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess, and  his  answer  was :  "  I  preach  on  Sun- 
day, but  I  have  four  hundred  and  fifty  mem- 
bers who  take  up  my  message  on  Monday  and 
preach  it  wherever  they  go."  The  ideal  plan 
for  the  extending  of  God's  kingdom  is  not 
through  one  evangelist  or  even  through  one 
pastor, — it  is  by  the  united  effort  of  the  mem- 
bership associated  with  a  consecrated  pastor. 
An  aroused  Church  membership  will  give  us  a 
redeemed  continent.  It  is  the  common  soldier 
who  fights  the  world's  battles,  and  victory  or 
defeat  turns  upon  the  man  behind  the  gun. 

If  our  laymen  are  to  win,  they  must  put 
themselves  in  touch  with  the  principles  of  per- 
sonal service.  The  world  must  be  won  man 
by  man.  The  personal  touch  is  always  the, 
touch  of  power.  Come  nearer,  come  nearer 
to  the  needy  heart  if  thou  wouldst  bless  and 
heal !  You  recall  the  complaint  of  the  Roman 
soldier  as  he  took  his  broadsword  to  enter  his 
first  contest :  "  The  sword  is  too  short."  "  If 
you  add  a  step  to  it,"  said  the  Roman  mother, 
"  it  will  be  long  enough,"  and  history  records 
that  as  Rome  shortened  her  sword  she  ex- 
tended her  kingdom. 

"The  layman  knows  that  the  personal  touch 


Laymen  in  Evangelism  75 

is  th©  secret  of  business  success.  It  is  the  age 
of  the  agent  and  the  promoter  and  the  com- 
mercial traveller.  Seventy  per  cent,  of  all  the 
trade  of  our  time  is  accomplished  by  personal 
solicitors  who  circumnavigate  the  globe  and 
crowd  every  hotel  and  train  to  do  their  work. 
Bishop  Fowler  tells  of  an  alert  preacher  who, 
when  he  was  sent  to  a  town  where  commercial 
travellers  congregated,  went  among  them  and 
asked  each  one  for  what  commercial  house  he 
was  running.  At  last,  some  one  impressed  by 
his  business  manner,  asked :  "  For  whom  are 
you  running  ?  "  And  the  pastor  replied  with 
great  eagerness,  "  I  am  running  for  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  I  am  going  to  show  my  goods 
at  half-past  ten  to-morrow  morning  up  at  that 
house  with  a  steeple,  and  I  wish  you  would 
come  and  examine  the  goods."  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  church  was  full,  and  so  were  the 
contribution  box  and  the  altar. 

If  we  wish  to  recruit  an  organization  or  a 
fraternity,  it  is  the  personal  method  we  adopt. 
College  students  spend  weeks  and  months  in 
cultivating  those  whose  presence  will  add 
weight  to  the  society  they  represent.  They 
introduce  them  to  their  friends  and  concern 
themselves  with  all  their  interests  in  school 


76     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

and  town.  Alas,  that  it  should  be  true  of  us 
who  profess  to  keep  company  with  Jesus  as 
our  dearest  friend,  that  we  have  walked  the 
streets  of  our  city  for  years  with  neighbours 
of  our  street  and  block,  and  have  never  once 
offered  to  introduce  them  to  our  dearest  Friend  I 
A  recent  editorial  in  the  Sunday  School 
Times  will  emphasize  and  illustrate  the  suc- 
cess which  attends  the  effort  of  reaching  for 
the  individual :  "  It  takes  a  really  big  soul 
to  be  interested  in  an  individual ;  anybody  can 
be  interested  in  a  multitude.  One  secret  of 
President  Koosevelt's  real  power  and  great- 
ness was  shown  in  an  incident  of  his  address 
at  the  dedicatory  exercises  of  the  new  capitol 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  There  was  an 
old  graybeard  about  ten  rows  back  who  wore 
on  the  lapel  of  his  faded  blue  suit  the  little 
bronze  button  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. The  president  had  been  speaking  of 
the  steadfastness  of  Pennsylvania  at  historical 
crises,  and  mentioned  the  time  when  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  was  the  issue.  '  The 
time,'  he  suddenly  exclaimed,  *  when  you,  my 
friend,  down  there  with  the  button — you  and 
your  comrades,  saved  the  Union.'  The  vet- 
eran's face  beamed  with  joy.    Tears  of  pride 


Laymen  in  Evangelism  77 

stood  in  his  gray  eyes.  He  grabbed  off  his 
wide  felt  hat  and  raised  it  aloft.  Because  of 
his  ability  to  be  interested  in  one  man,  the 
president  had  tenfolded  his  power,  not  only 
with  the  tens  of  thousands  then  present,  but 
with  his  nation  and  with  the  whole  world. 
And  the  best  thing  about  this  one-man  inter- 
est is  that  it  is  not  confined  to  presidents  ;  we 
can  all  practice  it  ourselves." 

The  results  which  have  come  from  this  per- 
sonal work  on  the  part  of  laymen  are  simply 
marvellous.  A  layman  who  had  become 
worldly  through  the  increase  of  property  was 
one  day  waited  upon  by  his  pastor  and  told 
that  he  felt  moved  after  prayer  to  lay  upon 
his  heart  the  bringing  of  one  of  his  rich  friends 
to  Christ.  This  he  refused  at  first  to  do,  but 
after  repeated  urging  consented  to  invite  the 
friend  to  dine  with  him.  Just  as  they  were 
leaving  the  table,  he  told  his  message  with 
much  self-abasement.  His  friend  replied: 
"I  have  wished  for  a  year  that  some  one 
would  help  me  to  Christ."  So  enamoured  of 
his  plan  did  the  worker  become  that  he  con- 
tinued his  personal  efforts  until  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  had  been  won  to  the  Christian 
life.     In  Philadelphia  is  a  layman  who  had 


78      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

long  been  a  member  of  the  Church,  but  had 
been  powerless  for  good.  In  a  revival  service 
his  heart  was  warmed  and  he  felt  called  to  be- 
gin the  work  of  winning  men  one  hy  one.  In 
four  and  one  half  months  he  had  led  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety -four  to  a  better  life. 


VIII 

A  PERSONAL  CHAPTER 

There  is  probably  nothing  which  interests 
us  so  much  as,  and  possibly  nothing  that  helps 
us  more  than,  the  simple  story  of  the  struggles 
and  triumphs  of  men  in  their  own  personal 
experience.  I  shall  waive  my  feelings  and 
write  a  chapter  of  my  own  life  history  with 
the  hope  that  I  may  help  some  one  who  passes 
the  same  way  that  I  have  travelled.  I  write 
in  sincere  humility,  arrogating  to  myself  no 
knowledge  or  devotion  superior  to  that  of  my 
brethren.  Such  personal  incidents  or  statistics 
as  may  be  given  are  presented  solely  that 
God's  name  may  be  glorified ;  for  all  the 
power  and  all  the  victory  are  His.  Before  I 
tell  you  my  own  experience  it  will  be  wise  to 
tell  you  how  I  came  to  have  one. 

I  was  born  in  Puritan  New  England.  My 
father  and  mother  were  Methodists.  I  was 
brought  up  with  this  idea  of  the  ministry ; 
that  a  man  must  have  a  call,  a  call  of  God, 
strange  and  powerful.  I  also  learned  from 
them  that  the  measure  of  a  man's  success  in 
79 


8o      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

the  ministry  was  his  power  to  reach  and  win 
men  to  God ;  that  was  the  only  standard  of 
success.  When  I  was  looking  towards  the 
ministry,  I  did  not  have  the  call  in  the  solemn, 
tremendous  form:  "Woe  is  me  if  I  preach 
not  the  gospel."  I  went  very  tremblingly  to 
my  first  charge  and  was  not  sure  that  I  was 
in  the  ministry  for  a  life  work.  There  seemed 
to  be  indications  that  led  that  way,  but  I  was 
not  satisfied.  I  said,  "  Oh,  Lord,  if  this  is  my 
work,  give  me  souls  for  my  hire.  If  souls  are 
saved,  I  shall  take  that  as  evidence  that  God 
wants  me."  I  wanted  to  know  whether  I  had 
the  power  to  reach  the  hearts  of  men,  or 
whether  I  simply  had  their  intellectual  ap- 
proval. And  God  was  pleased  to  give  us 
some  souls  as  the  result  of  our  labour  for  the 
first  year.  I  said,  "  This  may  have  happened 
so,  but  if  God  will  send  us  a  more  marvellous 
manifestation  next  year,  then  I  shall  be  cer- 
tain that  I  have  a  call  from  heaven."  And 
God  was  pleased  to  send  us  a  greater  blessing 
the  second  year.  But  like  Gideon,  I  wanted 
jet  another  test.  I  was  to  change  to  an  ap- 
pointment in  the  city,  and  I  said,  "  If  God 
shall  bless  me  there,  I  shall  take  it  beyond  all 
question  that  He  wants  me  in  the  ministry." 


A  Personal  Chapter  8l 

The  Holy  Spirit  gave  us  yet  a  larger  mani- 
festation of  His  favour  and  many  came  into 
the  kingdom.  Then  it  dawned  upon  me  that 
what  I  had  been  asking  for  three  years  was, 
after  all,  the  thing  I  was  to  expect  every  year 
in  the  ministry.  I  went  into  the  ministry  and 
have  prosecuted  it  with  that  end  in  view,  with 
an  absolute  conviction  on  my  soul  that  I  was 
doing  the  thing  I  ought  to  do  and  that  the 
Almighty  would  be  my  sufl&cient  helper.  I 
say  to  His  glory  that  in  these  twenty-five 
years  of  my  ministry  I  have  never  received 
less  than  one  hundred  souls  a  year  and  in  some 
years  many  times  that  number;  and  in  all 
those  twenty-five  years  I  have  not  passed  a 
single  monthly  communion  service  without 
receiving  some  into  the  church. 

When  I  came  to  New  York  I  feared  it 
would  open  a  new  chapter  in  my  experience. 
I  had  been  before  that  in  Brooklyn  for  seven 
years  at  the  Hanson  Place  Church.  That  had 
been  for  years  our  largest  Methodist  Church, 
and  had  a  wonderful  revival  history.  When 
I  went  there  I  supposed  there  would  be  a  re- 
vival,— that  was  the  expected  thing.  But 
when  I  went  to  Calvary  in  New  York  some 
of  my  friends  said, — "  Now  there  will  be  an 


82      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

end  of  the  sort  of  thiDg  you  have  been  expect- 
ing all  these  years.  There  will  doubtless  be 
some  spiritual  movement  but  you  will  face 
difficult  and  harder  conditions.  You  will  find 
that  New  York  and  Brooklyn  are  two  different 
places."  And  a  pulpiteer,  since  become  a 
novelist,  had  written, — "New  York  is  the 
graveyard  of  ministers."  In  October  we  had 
a  ministers'  meeting  at  Calvary  Church.  I 
was  asked  to  give  an  address  on  the  subject  of 
"  Pastoral  Evangelism."  As  I  walked  up  the 
aisle  to  speak,  one  of  the  brethren  whispered 
to  me,  "  It  is  a  new  field  over  here.  I  wonder 
how  it  will  be  at  the  end  of  this  season.  Per- 
haps you  will  not  hold  revival  meetings  such 
as  you  have  been  holding,  but  will  undertake 
some  new  method  of  doing  your  work  which 
will  not  count  so  much  on  getting  men  con- 
verted." I  said  what  I  had  to  say  about 
evangelistic  work,  but  my  brother's  words 
kept  ringing  in  my  ears — and  I  felt  forced  to 
add  at  the  close  of  my  address,  "  I  am  under 
new  conditions.  What  will  happen  here  I  do 
not  know.  But  this  is  true.  God  is  the  same 
in  New  York  as  in  every  other  city  in  the 
world.  I  don't  know  what  will  happen,  but  I 
wish  to  say  this ;  you  can  keep  your  eyes  on 


A  Personal  Chapter  83 

Calvary  Church,  for  something  is  going  to  hap- 
pen. It  will  be  a  victory  for  God  or  the 
devil.  The  thing  will  not  be  done  in  a  corner. 
All  the  community  will  know  whether  it  goes 
well  or  ill  with  us."  And  then  I  said  some- 
thing that  will  seem  to  you  too  strong.  "  But 
before  there  shall  be  a  failure  of  God's  work 
in  Calvary  Church  there  will  be  a  funeral  in 
Calvary's  parsonage,  for  I  simply  cannot  live 
to  witness  the  defeat  of  the  armies  of  the  liv- 
ing God.  Before  God,  I  will  die  in  the  streets 
before  there  shall  be  a  failure  of  that  great 
work  in  New  York  City."  If  the  people 
would  not  come  to  church  and  if  they  would 
not  heed  my  message  from  the  pulpit,  I  meant 
to  toil  in  the  streets  of  the  city  until  there 
was  no  more  strength  in  me.  I  intended  to 
meet  people  in  their  homes  and  oflBces  and 
bring  them  if  possible  to  the  personal  choice 
of  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  I  went  into 
it  with  the  determination  to  win  or  die  and 
before  God,  I  would  have  kept  my  word. 
Morning,  noon  and  night  I  was  at  it.  My 
prayers  and  my  efforts  went  together,  and  I 
walked  the  streets  of  JSTew  York  every  hour  in 
the  afternoon  until  it  seemed  to  me  that  if  all 
the  stairs  I  had  climbed  had  been  put  on  top 


84     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

of  one  another  I  would  have  been  a  long  way 
towards  the  moon.  I  did  not  sleep  much  at 
night,  for  the  anxiety  that  was  on  my  soul. 
When  I  reflected  upon  the  matter  I  recalled 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  men  who  have  moved 
the  world  for  God  were  not  good  sleepers. 
Jesus  was  one  of  that  number.  The  night 
knew  Him  well,  the  mountain  fastnesses  and 
the  sobbing  sea,  and  the  sweat  of  His  brow 
was  stained  by  the  travail  of  His  soul.  If 
"  love  of  power  consumed  Caesar  and  love  of 
pleasure  consumed  Mark  Antony,"  why  should 
it  be  a  thing  incredible  that  love  of  souls 
should  consume  God's  ministers  ? 

I  did  not  sleep  well,  but  on  the  first  Sunday 
in  February  I  received  my  pay  for  all  the 
sleep  I  had  lost,  for  that  day  I  received  three 
hundred  and  sixty  four  souls  into  the  Church 
of  the  living  God.  I  do  not  know  how  many 
of  them  were  converted — I  do  not  even  know 
how  many  of  us  are  converted.  But  they 
bore  the  evidence  of  the  Spirit  in  their  lives 
and  most  of  them  have  kept  steadily  on.  The 
work  was  duplicated  this  present  year.  And 
this  last  winter  I  received  as  many  as  a  year 
ago.  As  the  result  of  a  two  years'  pastorate 
in  that  city,  which  is  the  "  graveyard  of  min- 


A  Personal  Chapter  85 

isters,"  God  gave  us  over  and  above  all  re- 
movals, one  thousand  additions,  increasing  the 
membership  from  a  little  over  fourteen  hun- 
dred to  more  than  twenty-four  hundred. 

Throughout  all  these  years  of  ministerial 
service  we  have  invariably  adopted  the  course 
here  indicated.  We  have  served  up-town 
churches  and  down-town  churches,  family 
churches  and  churches  of  the  people,  but  in 
every  case  the  principle  applied  has  been  suc- 
cessful. The  matter  of  numbers  will  of  neces- 
sity depend  in  part  on  local  conditions,  but  we 
believe  the  principle  is  of  universal  application 
and  will  be  truly  successful  in  every  case.  We 
should  not  hesitate  to  adopt  it  in  wealthy  con- 
gregations and  among  people  of  social  prestige, 
as  well  as  in  churches  made  up  of  the  so-called 
common  people.  We  have  never  found  the 
cultivated  to  be  opposed  to  spiritual  life  as 
represented  in  the  throbbing  soul  of  an  earnest 
pastor,  and  we  have  yet  to  find  an  officiary 
that  would  not  rally  to  the  work  when  laid 
upon  them  in  the  spirit  of  the  Master. 


IX 

THE  PREPARATION  OF  PRAYER 

Before  one  undertakes  actual  evangelistic 
work  there  must  be  thorough  preparation. 
The  first  preparation  is  that  wrought  by 
prayer. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  for  Christian 
people  to  have  clear  ideas  concerning  prayer, 
that  they  may  neither  minimize  its  power  nor 
charge  God  foolishly.  The  most  of  the  men 
who  have  moved  this  world  towards  God  were 
men  of  prayer.  If  we  turn  to  the  Word  of 
God,  there  stands  Abraham  interceding  for 
the  worldly  Lot  and  Jacob  wrestling  with  the 
Angel  till  the  break  of  day.  There  is  Moses 
praying  for  his  people  and  Elijah  opening  and 
shutting  the  gates  of  heaven  by  the  leverage 
of  prayer.  The  Psalms  themselves  are  little 
more  than  communion  and  petition  with  ac- 
companying ascriptions  of  praise  for  answered 
prayer.  Here  is  the  Master  Himself,  the 
greatest  of  all  examples,  spending  whole  nights 
in  wilderness  and  mountain,  transformed 
86 


The  Preparation  of  Prayer  87 

by  prayer,  that  He  may  be  transfigured 
through  faith.  As  Dr.  Watson  says,  "  One  re- 
members in  modern  times  the  multitude  of  be- 
lieving men  who  have  wrought  marvels  by 
prayer  ;  how  the  more  Martin  Luther  had  to  do, 
the  more  he  prayed ;  how  Cromwell  on  his  death- 
bed interceded  for  God's  cause  and  God's 
people  in  the  finest  prayer  ever  offered  by  a 
patriot ;  how  it  is  written  of  the  *  Saints  of 
the  Covenant '  in  Scotland  that  they  lived 
*  praying  and  preaching '  and  that  they  died 
Spraying  and  fighting.'  What  possessed 
those  men  that  they  undertook  no  work  till 
they  had  first  met  with  God,  that  they  turned 
unto  Him  in  every  hour  of  defeat,  that  they 
carried  to  His  feet  the  trophies  of  their  vic- 
tories ?  "    The  Christian  poet  says, — 

^'  Prayer  is  the  Christian's  vital  breath, 
The  Christian's  native  air, 
His  watchword  at  the  gates  of  Death, 
He  enters  Heaven  by  prayer." 

The  poet  of  Nature  adds, — 

"More    things    are  wrought  by  prayer  than  this  world 
dreams  of. 
Therefore  let  thy  voice 
Rise  like  a  fountain  for  me  night  and  day. 
For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 


88     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer, 
Both  for  themselves  and  those  who  call  them  friends? 
For  so  the  whole  round  world  is  every  way 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God." 

The  Christian  philosopher  has  said,  "  Prayer 
is  religion  in  act,"  but  it  is  strange  what  mis- 
conceptions are  held  as  to  what  prayer  really 
is.    It  is  a  great  day  in  any  man's  life  when 
he  learns  that   lesson  and  finds  out  how  to 
pray.    I  had  been  nine  years  in  the  ministry 
before  I  understood  that  secret.    To  learn  it 
I  had  to  pass  through  agonies,  compared  with 
which  crucifixion  is  but  in  the  kindergarten  of 
suffering.     But  the  holy  peace  and  assurance 
that  came  to  me  were  worth  all  they  cost.    At 
I  the  risk  of  being  misunderstood,  I  must  say 
I   that  prayer  is  a  condition  of  heart  before  it 
forms  itself    into  a  petition  upon  our  lips. 
/    First  of  all,  prayer  is  communion  and  adora- 
I    tion.    Petition  is  rather  the  secondary  than 
I    the  primary  object  of  prayer.    In  it  we  come 
■    not  so  much  to  tell  God  what  we  want  of  Him 
as  to  ask  Him  what  He  wants  of  us.    We  have 
often  come  to  God,  selfish,  angry  and  rebel- 
lious, but  in  that  chamber  a  solemn  hush  falls 
upon  our  spirit,  a  soft  hand  is  laid  upon  our 
throbbing  hearts  and  we  seem  to  hear  God 


The  Preparation  of  Prayer  89 

say,  "  Softly,  my  child."    Many  of  us  in  truth 
must  say, — 

*'I  was  not  ever  thus,  nor  prayed  that  Thou  shonldst  lead 
me  on, 
I  loved  to  choose  and  see  mj  path,  bnt  now  lead  Thou 
me  on." 

How  ashamed  we  become  as  we  think  of 
some  of  our  prayers.  Willful  and  disappointed, 
we  have  prayed  like  other  foolish  prophets, — 
"  Let  me  die." 

"  Two  hands  upon  the  breast,  and  labour  done. 
Two  pale  feet  orosaed  in  rest.    The  race  is  won. 
So  pray  we  oftentimes,  mourning  our  lot. 
God  in  His  kindness  answereth  not. 
Two  hands  to  work  addressed,  aye  for  His  praise. 
Two  feet  that  never  rest,  walking  His  ways. 
So  pray  we  afterwards,  low  on  our  knees. 
Pardon  those  erring  prayers.    Father,  hear  these.'* 

"  Just  so  far  as  we  listen  to  the  voice  and 
language  that  God  speaks,  we  shall  learn  to 
speak  in  the  voice  and  language  that  God 
hears."  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  prayer  may 
not  be  a  straightforward  and  unhesitating  pe- 
tition, and  least  of  all  would  I  desire  to  minify 
the  value  of  intercessory  prayer.  I  can  think 
of  nothing  so  blessed  as  to  pray  and  feel  that 
the  heavens  are  open,  and  that  however  care- 
less men  may  be,  there  is  quenchless  interest 


QO     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

in  heaven  in  our  behalf.  The  great  purpose 
in  prayer  is  that  we  may  change  eyes  with 
God,  that  we  may  lay  down  our  plans  at  His 
feet,  and  receive  instead  His  perfect  will. 
Jesus  Himself  becomes  our  example  in  the 
garden  of  Gethsemane.  Under  the  spell  of 
prayer  the  cry  "  Let  this  cup  pass  "  changes  to, 
"  Thy  will  be  done." 

"Into  the  woods  my  Master  went,  clean  forspent,  forspent ; 

Into  the  woods  my  Master  came,  forspent  with  love  and 
shame. 

Out  of  the  woods  my  Master  went,  and  He  was  well  con- 
tent; 

Out  of  the  woods  my  Master  came,  content  with  death  and 
shame." 

What  is  the  agony  of  Gethsemane  if  a  man 
can  get  out  of  it  a  victory  like  that  ?  Many 
of  us  are  not  insistent  in  our  prayers.  We 
pray  and  run  away.  We  do  not  wait  to  see 
if  God  is  not  handing  down  some  great  gift 
for  us.  Manton,  the  old  Puritan  preacher, 
quaintly  says,  "  Foolish  boys  that  knock  at  a 
door  in  wantonness  will  not  stay  till  somebody 
Cometh  to  open  to  them,  but  a  man  that  hath 
business  will  knock  and  knock  again  until  his 
call  is  answered."  When  we  use  our  tele- 
phones, we  are  not  content  until  we  hear  the 


The  Preparation  of  Prayer  91 

voice  of  the  one  we  seek.  There  are  many  "^ 
who  undertake  to  talk  with  God,  but  they 
hang  up  the  receiver  before  the  answer  comes. 
Wait  until  there  is  an  answer  from  the  re- 
sponsive heavens ;  wait  until  there  is  borne  in 
upon  your  soul  the  fact  of  God's  abiding  love 
and  care  for  you.  Then  you  can  rise  from 
your  knees  and  go  forty  days  if  necessary  in 
the  strength  of  that  revelation  of  the  heart  of 
God. 

The  value  of  prayer  in  evangelistic  work 
would  be  hard  to  overestimate.  Nothing  is  so 
productive  of  that  indefinable  power  which  is 
felt  better  than  described,  but  which  gives  un- 
speakable unction  to  the  proclamation  of  the 
truth.  But  we  are  persuaded  that  many 
utterly  misapprehend  the  part  which  prayer  is 
to  play  in  the  prosecution  of  revival  work. 
They  seem  to  think  that  one  has  only  to  retire 
to  his  study  and  spend  his  time  in  supplication 
before  God  and  that  in  answer  to  that  suppli- 
cation a  strange  spirit  will  pervade  the  com- 
munity, hardened  men  will  grow  tender  and 
those  who  have  never  gone  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord  will  be  constrained  to  turn  their  faces 
hither.  "We  would  not  for  a  moment  deny 
that  miracles  of  grace  are  wrought  through 


92     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

prayer,  but  we  are  persuaded  out  of  our  ex- 
perience that  prayer  will  be  unavailing  unless 
we  go  out  ourselves  to  answer,  at  least  in  part, 
our  own  petitions.  Our  experience  has  been 
that  God  does  not  send  a  revival  in  one's 
sleep.  We  are  likely  to  hear  His  word  say- 
ing, "  Go  ye,"  but  we  will  have  tarried  so 
long  in  His  presence  that  the  glow  which  Moses 
had  in  his  heart  and  which  mounted  to  his 
face  will  appear  also  in  us,  and  some  may  say 
of  us,  as  another  said  of  John, 

"  Thon  bait  parted  with  thine  eyes  in  prayer, 
Unearthly  are  they  both,  and  so  thy  lips 
Seem  like  the  porches  of  the  Spirit  land, 
For  thou  hast  laid  rare  treasure  by, 
Unlocked  by  Him  in  nature,  and  thine  eye 
Glows  with  a  vision  and  Apocalypse, 
Thine  own  sweet  soul  can  hardly  understand," 


X 

EVANGELISTIC  BIBLE  STUDY 

Next  to  prayer  I  put  the  devotional  study 
of  the  Word  of  God  as  the  greatest  prepara- 
tion for  the  work  we  have  to  do.  Notice,  I 
have  said  "devotional  study."  The  critical 
study  of  the  Bible  is  necessary,  and  while 
much  of  that  must  of  necessity  be  left  to  those 
who  have  had  special  preparation  which  sup- 
plements the  critical  faculty,  it  is  true  that 
every  man  who  is  to  handle  the  Word  of  God 
must  know  something  about  its  critical  inter- 
pretation. By  such  study  we  strengthen  our- 
selves for  our  work,  and  gain  a  stronger  intel- 
lectual grip  upon  the  fundamentals  of  the 
Book.  But  there  comes  a  time  in  a  man*s  life 
when  he  does  not  look  over  the  letter  of  his 
wife  or  his  friend  to  see  whether  the  sentences 
are  properly  balanced,  or  whether  there  is  an 
error  in  spelling  or  punctuation — we  yearn 
for  the  message  which  the  letter  holds.  There 
comes  a  time  when  one's  Bible  is  God's  love 
letter  to  him,  and  he  reads  it  for  the  message 
which  shall  strengthen  his  soul  and  comfort 
93 


94     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

him  in  the  midst  of  his  burdens.  There  is  also 
great  need  in  this  connection  that  we  read  the 
Word  with  special  reference  to  the  thing  we 
have  in  hand — the  winning  of  men  to  God. 
It  will  do  us  good  if  we  can  get  something  of 
the  yearning  spirit  which  animated  the  prophets 
and  the  apostles.  In  the  last  month  before  my 
special  revival  work,  I  try  to  have  all  my 
reading  of  the  kind  that  will  inspire  me.  A 
runner  if  he  is  going  to  run  a  great  race  from 
Athens  to  Marathon  must  lay  aside  every 
weight  and  do  every  last  thing  that  he  can  to 
get  himself  in  trim  for  the  contest.  It  is  no 
ordinary  struggle  that  we  have  before  us. 
The  tug  of  it  may  crack  our  sinews,  and 
almost  break  our  hearts,  but  the  rewards  are 
incalculably  great. 

I  turn  first  to  the  Old  Testament  to  get 
its  evangelistic  message.  I  confess  a  special 
love  for  Joshua,  and  I  try  to  catch  a  little 
of  the  old  man's  spirit.  I  would  go  a  long 
way  to  get  hold  of  Joshua's  hand,  the 
hand  which  held  a  sword  that  never  felt 
its  scabbard  for  thirty  years,  and  never  fell 
before  the  stroke  of  any  man.  It  was  to  him 
that  Jehovah  said :  "  There  shall  not  any 
man  be  able  to  stand  before  thee  all  the  days 


Evangelistic  Bible  Study  95 

of  thy  life ;  be  strong  and  of  good  courage." 
Joshua,  as  he  laid  down  the  burden  of  his  life 
and  fell  on  sleep,  was  able  to  say, "  Not  one  of 
all  God's  promises  to  me  has  failed."  Faith  in 
God  comes  easy  in  sight  of  the  man  who  reined 
in  the  steeds  of  the  sun  and  put  a  silver  bridle 
on  the  moon  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon.  I  know 
what  the  higher  critics  have  to  say  about  this 
passage,  but  the  Book  says,  "  There  never  was 
a  day  like  it  before  or  since  when  God  heark- 
ened unto  the  voice  of  a  man,"  and  I  am  quite 
willing  to  leave  it  with  that  scriptural  com- 
ment. And  then  I  read  about  Caleb,  faithful 
he  among  the  faithless  spies.  It  challenges 
my  soul  to  read  about  the  old  man's  courage. 
Forty  years  after  he  made  his  little  excursion 
after  the  grapes  of  Eshcol  he  reminded  his 
friend  Joshua,  and  the  children  of  Israel,  that 
the  Anakim  he  had  seen  could  well  be  defeated 
by  any  man  who  had  God  with  him.  The 
man  who  once  was  young  is  now  old,  but  he 
asks  as  a  special  favour  that  he  may  have  a 
chance  to  face  the  men  that  terrified  the  un- 
faithful spies  and  says  that  if  they  will  only 
give  him  that  part  of  the  territory,  he  will 
conquer  it  himself.  Perhaps  he  boasts  a  little, 
and  perhaps  then  as  now  men  are  loath  to  feel 


96      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

that  they  are  not  as  strong  as  they  used  to  be. 
At  any  rate  he  asks  that  the  matter  may  be 
put  to  the  test,  and  down  he  goes  and  fights 
the  battle  as  he  said  he  would  and  wins  the 
victory  as  he  said  he  could.  It  makes  a  man 
feel  for  the  buckle  of  his  belt  to  read  of  Caleb. 
And  then  I  pass  on  to  the  Psalms,  and  try  to 
catch  the  spirit  of  the  man  who  wrote  them. 
And  now  the  prophets  wander  by.  There  is 
but  one  burden  upon  their  hearts.  It  is  a  bur- 
den for  lost  Israel.  They  long  with  an  un- 
speakable longing  to  reach  those  who  are  going 
astray,  jeopardizing  their  own  life,  and  the  life 
of  the  nation.  One  of  our  English  preachers 
has  lately  said  that  whether  there  be  two 
Isaiahs  or  not  he  is  glad  there  is  only  one 
Jeremiah.  I  suppose  he  means  by  that  that 
one  weeping  prophet  and  one  set  of  jeremiads 
is  enough,  but  I  cannot  help  feeling  that  it 
would  be  well  for  us  as  a  people  if  there  were 
more  prophets  to  weep  between  the  porch  and 
the  altar  and  to  cry  with  the  agony  of  a  great 
longing,  "  Oh,  that  my  head  were  waters,  and 
mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might 
weep  day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the 
daughter  of  my  people."  And  now  we  turn 
to  Jonah,  and  listen  to  the  weird  evangelist 


Evangelistic  Bible  Study  97 

in  the  streets  of  Nineveh.  It  was  once  quite 
the  fashion  to  sneer  at  Jonah,  and  the  mere 
mention  of  his  name  would  provoke  a  smile, 
but  that  day  has  passed.  Once  men  seemed 
to  think  that  the  message  of  the  book  of  Jonah 
centred  upon  the  size  of  a  whale's  throat,  and 
the  time  it  would  take  a  fish's  stomach  to 
make  chyme  and  chyle  of  a  prophet.  But 
men  are  wiser  now.  They  see  that  the  mes- 
sage of  the  book  of  Jonah  is  as  fresh  as  your 
own  last  conviction  of  sin,  and  this  is  its  mes- 
sage :  If  any  man  or  any  people  try  to  run 
away  from  God  they  will  get  into  trouble; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  if  any  man  or  any  na- 
tion will  humble  themselves  and  forsake  their 
sins,  God  will  have  mercy  and  pardon. 

Now  we  are  ready  for  the  New  Testament, 
and  there  we  find  the  fourfold  record  of  Him 
whose  zeal  consumed  His  life.  If  we  were  to 
write  in  a  single  sentence  the  story  of  the  life 
of  Jesus,  I  think  this  would  be  the  substance 
of  that  sentence,  "  He  went  about  saving 
the  lost."  So  I  read  the  chapter  that  Luke 
gives  us  about  the  lost  coin,  and  the  lost  sheep, 
and  the  lost  boy.  I  see  Him  ceaselessly  seek- 
ing the  sick,  and  the  poor,  and  the  lost, — a 
guest  of  publicans  and  sinners  that  He  may 


gS      Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

show  them  a  new  life,  and  win  them  to  it.  I 
mark  him  praying  at  dead  of  night  in  mountain 
fastnesses,  and  by  the  sobbing  sea,  and  I  watch 
Him  on  the  way  to  Gethsemane  and  up  to 
Calvary.  I  shall  never  cease  to  be  grateful  to 
God  that  I  had  the  opportunity  to  trace  His 
footsteps  in  the  Holy  Land.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  day  when  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  I  went  out  to  the  skull-shaped  hill 
where  Jesus  died  and  saw  the  very  rocks, 
which  for  all  you  or  I  know  were  rent  asunder 
in  the  throes  which  shook  the  world  at  the 
hour  of  His  crucifixion.  As  I  looked  at  them 
I  said  :  "  These  are  rock,  but  they  broke  in 
that  awful  hour  ;  can  human  hearts  be  harder 
than  they?"  I  have  never  quite  lost  the 
inspiration  that  came  to  me  from  the  six  hours 
of  meditation  on  the  crest  of  Golgotha.  It  is 
not  far  to  Joseph's  new-made  grave,  but  the 
door  of  it  is  open,  and  we  hasten  to  the  mount 
of  Ascension.  I  catch  the  triumphant  note, 
"  All  power  is  given  unto  Me,  Lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway."  Then  I  read  about  Pentecost 
and  marvel  at  the  uplift  of  the  apostles  on  that 
great  day.  I  remind  myself  of  the  fact  that 
every  man  must  have  his  own  Pentecost,  and 
that  only  he  who  has  felt  the  tongue  of  fire  is 


Evangelistic  Bible  Study  99 

able  to  speak  the  words  that  burn.  And  then 
I  read  of  those  wonderful  things  which  hap- 
pened after  Pentecost,  and  note  that  every 
page  of  the  blessed  Book  is  bound  to  every 
other  page  by  a  crimson  thread. 


XI 

EVANGELISTIC  PREACHING 

All  preaching  that  is  really  to  count  must 
be  in  some  sense  evangelistic  preaching,  and 
every  man  who  is  religiously  to  bless  the  world 
must  be  at  heart  an  evangelist.  It  will,  there- 
fore, be  seen  that  no  man  with  a  special  and 
limited  function  has  any  right  to  monopolize 
the  name — evangelist.  In  the  New  Testament 
sense  the  evangel  is  the  good  news  that  the 
whole  Book  promulgates.  First  a  Messiah,  a 
world  deliverer,  foretold  and  expected,  unto 
whom  all  the  prophets  testify:  The  Son  of 
God  become  the  Son  of  man,  "  who  shall  not 
fail  nor  be  discouraged  till  He  have  set  judg- 
ment in  the  earth ;  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for 
His  law,"  of  whose  kingdom  and  glory  there 
shall  be  no  end.  We  have  not  sufficiently  ex- 
alted the  King  and  His  kingdom.  We  have 
not  believed  strongly  enough  in  His  present 
and  ultimate  triumph.  There  is  evil  in  our 
high  places.  Our  whole  community  has  been 
shocked  at  the  revelations  of  the  selfishness  of 
the  selfish  and  the  evil  practices  which  are 

lOO 


Evangelistic  Preaching  loi 

corrupting  the  good.  How  will  it  all  end? 
If  we  have  any  doubt  let  us  get  back  with  the 
fearful  whom  Gideon  could  not  use.  We  have 
no  place  in  the  ranks,  for  we  shall  fight  the 
fight  of  the  half-hearted  and  fill  the  place  of  a 
better  man.  If  you  preach  that  the  world  is 
to  wax  worse  and  worse,  and  after  all  our 
preaching  the  world  is  to  fret  away  the 
borders  of  the  church  until  nothing  remains, 
do  not  call  that  message  an  evangel.  Church 
history  proves  that  the  ages  when  that  doc- 
trine has  been  most  preached  have  been  fol- 
lowed by  spiritual  declension  of  the  most 
serious  sort.  The  only  preaching  which  fits 
the  facts  is  the  preaching  of  the  victorious,  not 
a  defeated,  Christ.  He  is  to  be  the  world 
leader  and  He  is  mounting  steadily  and  irre- 
sistibly to  the  high  places  of  human  hope. 
The  first  note,  therefore,  in  the  evangel  must 
be  the  note  of  unconquerable  faith.  Men  need 
to  know  that  Christ  is  not  dependent  upon 
their  poor  suffrages.  They  need  to  get  their 
eyes  open  to  His  matchless  power.  If  there  is 
to  be  a  final  Judgment,  He  will  be  there,  not  as 
suppliant,  but  as  judge.  We  do  so  much 
pleading,  and  we  assume  so  much  of  the 
"eternally   feminine,"  that  it  needs  for  the 


102    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

stirring  of  men  who  have  blood  in  them,  the 
bold  strong  presentation  of  authority  and 
power.  Hear  Christ  saying,  "All  power  is 
given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth."  He 
not  only  claimed  it  for  Himself,  but  He  showed 
men  that  He  was  King  by  right  of  His  royal 
nature.  So  Pilate  said  when  he  saw  Him  in 
His  deep  humiliation.  Even  the  Koman  Pro- 
curator had  spiritual  vision  enough  to  see  a 
diadem  on  His  brow  that  shone  through  the 
matted  thorns  and  that  shines  to-day  with  ever 
increasing  splendour.  All  art  and  literature, 
all  moralities  and  philanthropies,  hail  Him 
King — the  unmatched  Galilean  ;  He  the  power 
of  every  righteous  throne ;  He  the  menace  of 
every  evil  man  and  method,  hastening  them 
to  their  own  undoing  and  waiting  in  patience 
till  the  world  shall  own  Him  King  of  kings. 
Stand  the  Man  of  Nazareth  against  all  other 
men  and  gods,  and  marvel  at  the  measureless 
altitude  of  His  uplifted  head.  Bring  the 
dusty  pilgrims  who  have  sought  through  all 
the  ages  for  the  Universal  King  that  they  may 
bring  their  homage,  and  hear  them  say,  "We 
have  seen  His  star  and  have  come  to  worship 
Him."  Turn  the  light  on  Him.  Let  critics 
cavil,  let  pessimists  wail,  there  is  one  sufficient 


Evangelistic  Preaching  103 

answer:  it  is  the  "crystal  Christ."  Let  us 
thunder  out  the  climax  of  that  first  pentecostal 
sermon  :  "  Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  know- 
assuredly  that  God  hath  made  that  same 
Jesus,  whom  ye  crucified,  both  Lord  and 
Christ."  We  may  well  assure  ourselves  and 
let  all  men  understand  that  God  has  not  begun 
a  work  which  was  too  great  for  Him  to  accom- 
plish ;  that  He  will  never  throw  up  His  hands 
in  the  presence  of  a  world  sunk  in  sin  and  say, 
"  I  hoped  to  redeem  it  but  the  work  is  too  great 
for  Me."  As  surely  as  God  is  God  the  time 
will  come  when  His  holy  purpose  shall  be  ac- 
complished. 

The  second  note  in  the  evangel  is  the 
humiliation  of  Christ.  I  see  my  own  great 
want  by  the  length  of  the  chain  let  down  to 
reach  me.  It  is  when  I  measure  myself  with 
the  Christ  of  the  cross  that  I  see  how  miser- 
able and  undone  I  am,  and  it  is  then  that  I  am 
most  persuaded  of  His  Kingship.  If  my  lost 
condition  was  such  as  to  send  this  royal  soul 
to  the  cross  for  the  love  He  had  for  me,  I  must 
answer  His  seeking  call  with  a  glad  "  I  will ! " 
You  need  not  tell  me  I  am  a  sinner.  I  know 
it  when  I  look  at  Him.  If  He  is  the  measure 
of  a  man,  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  I    I  have 


\ 


104    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

seen  hundreds  who  said,  "  I  am  as  good  as 
other  men,"  and  they  sat  unmoved  by  all  my 
'j  appeals,  but  when  they  wefe  minded  to  go 
with  me  to  the  cross,  and  let  me  show  them 
Him  who  hung  upon  it,  then  there  was  no 
more  spirit  in  them,  and  they  said,  "  God  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  Now  we  are  at  the 
heart  of  the  evangel.  Here  is  good  news  in- 
deed. Preach  it  as  if  it  were.  Let  ours  be 
the  joy  which  the  messenger  has  when  he 
bears  the  pardon  of  the  governor  to  the  con- 
demned. Let  ours  be  the  haste  of  one  who 
fears  he  comes  too  late ;  and  let  every  word 
declare  the  abounding  delight  of  one  who  car- 
ries life  to  those  who  were  dead.  Dr.  Dawson 
quotes  Dr.  Burton  as  saying  in  his  Yale  lec- 
tures :  "  It  has  been  the  sin  of  my  life  that  I 
have  not  always  taken  aim.  I  have  been  a 
lover  of  subjects.  If  I  had  loved  men  more, 
and  loved  subjects  only  as  God's  instrument  of 
good  for  men,  it  would  have  been  better  and  I 
should  have  more  to  show  for  my  labour  under 
the  sun." 

If  a  man  is  to  preach  the  cross  he  must  him- 
self be  a  crucified  man.  By  that  I  mean  not 
simply  that  he  has  known  an  hour  when  his 
earthly  ambitions  were  nailed  to  the  cross,  but 


Evangelistic  Preaching  105 

rather  that  he  shall  daily  prove  himself  to  be 
the  self-less  man — one  who  counts  not  his  own 
life  and  ease  dear  unto  himself.  It  is  the  un- 
selfish service  that  counts,  and  when  the  world 
sees  the  marks  of  the  nails  in  the  palms  of  the 
church,  it  will  be  no  longer  faithless  but  be- 
lieving. 

The  third  and  irresistible  note  of  the  evangel 
is  in  the  heart  tone  that  thrills  it.  If  you  do 
not  care  for  men,  and  "  care  to  care,"  you  can- 
not speak  the  word  with  power.  You  are  a 
hireling  and  the  sheep  are  not  yours,  and  they 
know  it.  It  is  the  voice  that  has  laughter  and 
tears  in  it  that  moves  men's  souls,  and  it  does 
it  because  it  is  the  voice  of  human  sympathy. 
That  is  the  note  which  the  weary  world  misses 
in  so  much  that  is  said  from  the  pulpit.  Years 
spent  in  college  and  seminary  in  gathering  in- 
formation about  the  history  of  the  church  and 
the  Book  lead  unconsciously  to  the  exalting  to 
the  first  place  of  matters  purely  erudite.  It  is 
enough  to  humiliate  the  scholar  to  find  by 
actual  experience  what  a  small  part  the  things 
he  has  learned  play  in  the  work  he  is  called  to 
do.  They  are  not  without  value,  but  they 
gain  that  value  when  relegated  to  the  place  they 
ought  to  occupy — that  of  helps  and  not  ends. 


lo6    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

I  have  said  that  it  is  the  heart  note  that  rises 
before  every  other  in  evangelistic  preaching. 
Only  the  man  with  the  yearning  soul  is  of  any 
account  with  the  evangel.  If  he  can  sleep 
nights  and  be  content  days,  whether  men  heed 
his  message  or  not,  it  proves  that  he  has  a 
stony  heart.  Whatever  outward  perfections 
he  has  they  are  those  of  a  marble  statue  and 
not  of  a  living  man.  Why  are  we  not  burning 
with  the  zeal  that  consumed  our  Master  and 
sent  Him  to  nights  of  prayer  and  Gethsemanes 
of  anguish?  Is  it  our  faith  or  our  practice 
that  is  at  fault  ?  Do  we  believe  that  men  are 
lost  and  that  Christ  alone  can  save  them,  or  is 
it  that  men  are  conscious  that  our  lives  are  too 
indolent  and  our  lips  too  impure  to  sound  so 
high  a  note  ?  How  insidious  are  the  foes  of  a 
minister  !  Is  he  trimming  his  sails  for  some 
official  port  ?  What  a  miserable  voyage  he 
will  make  !  Has  he  ambition  to  be  known  as 
a  great  preacher  by  critics  of  the  form  of 
things  ?  How  soon  he  will  lose  the  power  of 
his  message !  Does  he  seem  to  say,  "  Look  at 
me  and  see  how  scholarly  I  am  "  ?  Then  his 
critics  will  go  out  from  his  preaching  as  from 
any  other  performance,  and  the  spiritual  will 
say,  "  There  was  no  cross  and  no  Easter,  and 


Evangelistic  Preaching  107 

we  saw  but  a  little  man  when  we  hoped  to  see 
Jesus  only."  How  Sloth  cuts  the  nerve  of 
him  who  brings  the  evangel !  If  he  has  a 
corner  in  the  study,  or  hides  on  the  sofa,  have 
at  him  I  You  two  cannot  occupy  the  same 
pulpit.  Do  not  dawdle.  Be  in  dead  earnest, 
or  the  fine  subtle  power  of  your  ministry  is 
ended.  If  you  have  the  heart  note  the  expres- 
sion of  your  message  will  be  direct  and  genuine 
to  the  last  degree.  But  of  this  matter  of  the 
yearning  soul  I  speak  more  at  length  in  an- 
other chapter. 

In  evangelistic  preaching  the  simplicity  of 
its  form  has  much  to  do  with  the  power  of  its 
effect.  How  many  preachers  are  conscious  of 
one  vocabulary  for  use  in  the  pulpit,  and  quite 
another  which  they  use  in  daily  intercourse,  in 
the  discussion  of  daily  happenings  and  in  the 
statement  of  their  own  feelings  and  purposes. 
It  was  said  of  Henry  Clay  that  he  made  his 
friends  with  one  vocabulary  and  lost  the  presi- 
dency with  another.  As  we  read  many  of  the 
speeches  which  made  reputations  and  careers 
a  century  ago,  we  wonder  that  the  people  en- 
dured such  high-flown  and  bombastic  talk ! 
Our  age  will  have  none  of  it.  It  knows  that 
the  language  which  a  man  uses  when  he  talks 


lo8    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

about  the  things  which  interest  him  in  daily 
life  is  the  language  that  reveals  the  man.  I 
listened  in  the  courts  to  a  man  pleading  for  the 
life  of  his  client,  and  I  marked  the  words  he 
used.  Every  one  of  them  so  simple  that  the 
most  unlearned  man  in  the  jury  knew  its  mean- 
ing. His  message  swayed  him.  He  felt  that 
it  was  life  or  death  that  day,  and  the  dread 
alternative  was  in  the  venture  of  his  speech. 
When  a  man  the  other  day  allowed  himself  in 
an  appeal  to  the  jury  to  substitute  rhetoric  for 
facts  and  conviction,  the  papers  voiced  the  just 
indignation  of  the  world.  "What  a  lesson  is 
here  for  him  who  pleads  for  souls  1  What  an 
impertinence  our  ^gs^ipedalian  words  and 
heartless  oratory  really  are  in  the  sight  of  God 
and  thoughtful  men.  What  are  theological 
subtleties  when  a  soul  is  at  stake?  If  one 
thinks  that  simple,  soulful  words  are  easily 
spoken,  and  that  they  are  the  sign  of  lack  of 
preparation,  let  him  try  to  use  them,  and  he 
will  discern  his  mistake.  The  great  masters, 
and  not  the  tyros,  are  the  men  of  simple 
speech.  Just  in  proportion  as  one's  theme 
fills  the  soul  of  the  cultivated  man  will  his 
presentation  of  it  become  powerful.  *'It  is 
with  words  as  with  sunbeams — the  more  they 


Evangelistic  Preaching  109 

are  condensed  the  deeper  they  burn."  Then, 
too,  we  must  be  careful  not  to  talk  of  our  own 
spiritual  attainment  in  boastful  superlatives. 
"We  must  use  a  smaller  vocabulary  or  get  a 
larger  experience. 

Again  our  age  is  a  direct  one.  It  is  the  age 
of  small  books,  of  short  addresses,  of  thirty- 
minute  sermons — "  with  a  leaning  to  the  side 
of  mercy."  When  a  man  talks  as  if  he  meant 
it,  his  soul  flashing  out  at  his  eyes,  his  words 
throbbing  with  deep  concern,  art  and  method 
forgotten  in  the  tremendous  sweep  of  the 
evangel  over  his  own  soul,  then  men  are  likely 
to  listen  and  to  come  again.  Preaching  is  the 
art  of  persuasion  in  its  highest  form,  and  noth- 
ing that  gives  power  with  men  is  alien  to  it. 

For  preachers  who  have  eyes  to  see  a  new 
day  is  dawning.  The  signs  of  the  times  are 
blood  red  in  their  intensity  and  no  man  who 
has  any  fitness  to  wear  the  prophet's  garb  or 
exercise  his  function  can  fail  to  heed  them. 
Why  is  it  that  men  like  Hillis  and  Dawson  are 
taking  up  Burton's  lament  as  to  the  aimless- 
ness  of  their  past  ministry,  and  are  going  to 
halls  and  parks  and  other  strange  places  to 
preach  the  evangel  ?  These  men  are  liberal 
enough  and  literary  enough  not  to  be  classed 


no    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

with  literalists  and  fanatics.  They  will  tell 
you  that  they  have  seen  a  vision  and  heard  a 
call,  and  they  must  be  true  to  them  or  cease 
to  preach.  The  critics  have  had  their  day  and 
done  their  work.  Some  of  them  have  laboured 
to  good  purpose,  and  our  children  will  build 
tombs  for  some  whom  we  have  stoned.  The 
negative  critics  have  wrought  their  own  undo- 
ing and  in  their  unfair  criticisms  have  quite 
destroyed  themselves.  The  foundations  of  our 
faith,  unmoved  by  scientific  and  philosophical 
pickaxe,  seem  stronger  now  than  ever.  But 
just  now  we  are  not  talking  much  about 
critics,  high  or  low,  nor  are  we  constrained 
above  measure  by  either  scientific  or  theolog- 
ical narrowness.  Bishop  Hall  said  long  ago, 
"  The  most  useful  of  all  our  theological  books 
would  be  one  with  the  title  De  Paucitate 
Credendorum," — of  the  fewness  of  the  things 
necessary  to  be  believed.  This,  in  substance, 
the  people  are  saying  to  us  to-day.  They  do 
not  give  first  place  to  sermons  on  the  puzzling 
books  of  the  Bible.  They  are  satisfied  that 
they  have  been  the  victims  of  some  religious 
pettifogging,  and  they  are  asking  for  bread 
and  will  not  be  satisfied  with  a  stone.  This 
cry   was  not   born  in  the  pulpit  nor  in  the 


Evangelistic  Preaching  ill 

homes  of  the  wealthy  but  in  the  heart  of  the 
common  people,  and  in  that  it  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  every  great  reformation  from 
the  days  of  Savonarola  and  of  Galileo  to  the 
days  of  the  Welsh  revival.  One  of  the 
marvels  of  our  time  is  that  men  whom  we 
have  called  liberals,  or  something  worse,  have 
been  among  the  first  to  heed  the  call.  They 
have  stopped  reading  literary  essays  and  have 
gone  to  preaching  with  tears  in  their  voices. 
They  have  left  their  pulpits  and  preached  from 
the  tail  of  a  cart.  They  have  renounced  the 
scholarly  ease  of  one  essay  a  week  and  have 
counted  it  a  joy  to  preach  bareheaded  in  the 
market  every  day  and  have  said,  in  holy  aban- 
don, with  Dr.  Hillis,  "  What's  the  use  of  dying 
of  bacilli  when  one  might  die  of  hard  work  ?  " 
What  led  most  of  us  to  preach  was  a  passion 
for  the  souls  of  men.  Has  that  passion  cooled  ? 
One  of  our  bishops  recalled  before  a  preachers' 
meeting  the  thrilling  experience  of  his  call  to 
preach.  He  showed  himself  to  us  kneeling  in 
the  melting  snow  in  an  agony  of  prayer,  and 
asked  himself  tearfully  if  he  was  willing  to  do 
the  same  thing  now.  Come  back  to  the  old 
love  by  way  of  the  closet ;  come  back  to  the 
old  joy  by  way  of  the  same  old  cross ;  preach 


1 1 2    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

the  old  evangel,  which  is  ever  new,  and  preach 
it  with  a  loving  heart,  and  the  world  which 
has  been  cold  to  you,  will  crowd  once  more  to 
listen. 


XII 

PULPIT  POWER 

May  I  still  further  press  the  matter  of 
evangelistic  preaching  by  a  consideration  of 
some  additional  elements  of  pulpit  power. 

It  ought  to  be  said  at  once  that  "  preaching  " 
— to  use  the  fine  phrase  of  Dr.  Lyman — "is 
not  an  art,  but  an  incarnation."  Many  a  ser- 
mon over  which  the  angels  have  covered  their 
faces  and  wept  was  a  fine  piece  of  art.  Pos- 
sibly that  came  to  be  true  because  the  preacher 
considered  his  sermon  an  end,  not  a  means. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  a  sermon  is  a 
failure  just  in  proportion  as  it  falls  short  of 
producing  the  great  result  for  which  every 
true  sermon  is  delivered.  "  That  was  a  great 
sermon,"  say  the  preachers  and  the  deacons 
and  the  elect  ladies  at  the  close  of  some  con- 
vention or  conference  deliverance.  What  made 
it  so  ?  "  Why,  the  argument  was  conclusive, 
the  rhetoric  brilliant,  the  illustrations  were 
classical  and  interesting,  and  the  gestures  fault- 
less." What  will  Jesus  and  Stephen  and  Paul 
say  when  a  yardstick  of  that  sort  is  brought 
"3 


1 14    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

out  to  measure  a  great  sermon  ?  One  cannot 
help  recalling  the  old  story  of  the  physician 
lecturing  upon  a  new  surgical  operation. 
"How  many  times  have  you  performed  this 
operation  ?  "  ask  the  doctors.  "  Sixty-five,"  is 
the  answer.  "  How  many  of  your  patients  re- 
covered ?  "  "  They  all  died,  but  the  operation 
is  most  brilliant."  If  a  preacher  would  preach 
a  great  sermon,  let  him  be  convinced  that  it  is 
life  or  death  with  some  souls  that  day,  and 
that  they  will  take  their  fate  at  his  hands. 

It  is  a  great  hour  when  a  surgeon  holds  a 
scalpel,  at  the  end  of  which  is  life  or  death  for 
the  patient.  It  is  a  greater  hour  when  a  law- 
yer faces  a  jury,  with  the  conviction  that  if  he 
makes  a  mistake  an  innocent  man  will  hang 
and  a  family  be  disgraced  forever.  But  the 
greatest  hour  any  human  being  ever  faces  is 
the  hour  when  he  stands  as  God's  represent- 
ative before  a  man  hastening  to  his  condemna- 
tion and  commissioned  to  offer  him  a  pardon 
that  is  to  last  for  the  eternities. 

That  is  a  thrilling  story  which  is  told  of  the 
old  Scotch  preacher,  Donald  Cargill,  in  "  Men 
of  the  Covenant."  His  sermons  were  briefer 
than  those  of  the  majority  of  his  brethren. 
Some  spoke  to  him  that  he    preached  and 


Pulpit  Power  115 

prayed  short,  saying,  "  Oh,  sir,  'tis  long  be- 
twixt meals  and  we  a'  are  in  a  starving  condi- 
tion. All  is  good,  sweet  and  wholesome  which 
ye  deliver,  but  why  do  you  straiten  us  so  much 
for  shortness?"  He  answered  like  a  man 
with  a  high  commission :  "  Ever  since  I  bowed 
a  knee  in  good  earnest  to  pray  I  never  durst 
pray  and  preach  with  my  gifts,  and  when  my 
heart  is  not  affected  and  comes  not  up  with 
my  mouth  I  always  think  it  time  for  me  to 
quit  it.  What  comes  not  from  my  heart  I 
have  little  hope  that  it  will  go  to  the  heart  of 
others."  He  did  not  pray  at  much  length  in 
public,  Cargill  said,  "  lest  he  should  be  pray- 
ing with  his  own  gifts  and  not  with  the  divine 
Spirit's  graces  " ;  but  he  never  wearied  of  pri- 
vate devotion.  From  his  youth  he  loved  the 
solitary  place  and  more  than  once  he  continued 
whole  nights  in  fellowship  with  his  Father. 
He  had  his  distinctive  attitude  in  prayer.  "  He 
always  sat  straight  upon  his  knees  without 
resting  upon  anything,  with  his  hands  lifted 
up;  and  some  took  notice  he  died  the  same 
way,  with  the  bloody  rope  around  his  neck." 

Before  one  can  preach  an  evangelistic  ser- 
mon he  must  have  an  evangelistic  heart. 
Many  a  man  shrinks  by  nature  from  the  di- 


il6    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

rectness,  persistence,  and  struggle  of  a  sermon 
which  must  bring  victory  or  defeat  upon  the 
spot.  His  taste  is  shocked  by  it  and  he  is  fain 
to  justify  by  false  arguments  some  other  course. 
Those  only  win  in  the  sight  of  God  and  men 
who  subordinate  their  inclinations  to  their 
convictions. 

There  must  be  manifest  on  the  part  of  the 
preacher  an  absorbing,  overmastering  interest 
in  the  salvation  of  those  to  whom  he  preaches. 
He  must  speak  "  as  a  man  in  chains  to  men  in 
chains."  That  interest  need  not  show  itself  in 
ejaculations  or  tears.  It  is  deeper  than  these. 
When  a  congregation  knows  its  pastor  is  so 
profoundly  interested  in  the  salvation  of  his 
flock  as  to  interrupt  the  ordinary  flow  of  life's 
concerns,  it  will  begin  to  be  interested  for 
itself.  Dr.  Hillis  never  did  a  better  thing  for 
himself  or  for  his  people  than  when,  on  assum- 
ing his  Chicago  pastorate,  he  begged  his  people 
not  to  burden  him  with  social  engagements, 
but  to  allow  him  opportunity  for  study  and 
deep  communion  with  spiritual  things  that  he 
might  become  thereby  God's  prophet  to  their 
souls. 

The  price  of  shining  is  burning.  If  a  man 
greatly  lights  the  world  he  will  consume  the 


Pulpit  Power  •  II7 

oil  of  his  life.  The  cross  still  conquers  men, 
and  he  who  will  climb  to  it  for  the  love  he  has 
will  find  a  crown  upon  its  rugged  bars.  The 
world  has  little  use  for  the  smug  and  comfort- 
able parson,  "  the  little,  round,  fat,  oily  man 
of  God."  It  accuses  him  of  living  a  com- 
placent life,  sharing  little  the  hard  condi- 
tions of  toil,  and  seldom  soiling  his  hands  or 
cracking  his  sinews  with  the  rough  and  rugged 
things  which  the  average  man  knows  too  well. 
It  looks  in  the  tables  of  the  actuaries  and  finds 
that  clergymen  are  the  best  insurance  risk,  that 
they  live  longer  than  artisans  or  other  profes- 
sional men,  and  concludes  it  is  because  they 
look  after  themselves  and  moderate  their  toil 
and  their  exposure.  No  doubt  the  community 
is  mistaken  in  its  judgment,  but  it  will  do  the 
cause  of  Christ  much  good  for  the  average  man 
to  be  convinced  that  the  minister  of  to-day  is 
like  his  Master  in  uncalculating  toil,  that  he  is 
in  the  world  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to 
minister. 

A  good  picture  for  every  pastor's  study  is 
the  scene  at  New  bury  port  with  Whitefield,  on 
the  last  night  of  his  life,  "  Weary  in  his  Mas- 
ter's work,  but  not  of  it,"  standing  on  the  stairs 
of  his  humble  home,  holding  a  light  in  his  hand 


Il8    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

and  talking  to  the  people  till  the  candle  burned 
to  its  socket  and  went  out.  Then  the  old  hero 
goes  up  to  his  chamber.  As  the  light  of  the 
morning  breaks,  the  lamp  of  his  life  goes  out. 
There  you  have  your  burning  and  shining 
light. 

John  Wesley  is  said  never  to  have  had  "  a 
bad  quarter  of  an  hour."  He  could  command 
sleep  at  any  time  and  seemed  a  stranger  to 
worry  and  depression.  Some  of  us  are  not 
constituted  like  Wesley.  In  times  of  stress 
sleep  will  not  come,  and  if  we  do  not  worry 
we  are  at  least  profoundly  anxious.  It  is  God's 
way  with  us ;  let  us  use  it  for  His  glory.  If 
we  cannot  sleep  we  can  spend  the  wakeful 
hours  in  such  communion  as  will  make  the 
language  of  heaven  natural  to  us  when  we 
enter  the  pulpit,  and  we  shall  illustrate  to  our 
people  the  fact  which  Joan  of  Arc  affirmed  to 
her  judges :  "  My  Lord  God  hath  a  book  in 
which  are  written  many  things  which  the  most 
learned  clerk  and  scholars  have  never  come 
across." 

Do  we  not  solace  ourselves  in  the  midst  of 
our  unfaithfulness  by  saying,  "  We  will  preach 
the  Word  and  leave  it  to  God  to  nourish  it." 
The  fact  is  the  message  cannot  be  left  un- 


Pulpit  Power  II9 

watched  of  the  pastor  any  more  than  the  pre- 
scription can  be  left  un watched  of  the  physi- 
cian. There  are  indeed  times  when  the  pastor 
must  wait  in  faith  and  stand  still  and  see  the 
glory  of  God  but  he  must  first  be  certain  that 
he  has  done  his  full  duty. 

In  speaking  of  power  in  the  pulpit  a  word 
concerning  the  selection  of  themes  will  not 
be  out  of  place.  Let  us  choose  great  themes,  for 
great  themes  stimulate  to  great  preaching. 
Such  themes  are  not  of  necessity  philosophical, 
nor  do  they  concern  themselves  mainly  with 
apologetics.  Least  of  all  will  they  concern 
themselves  with  the  technical  attack  or  defense 
of  criticism  higher  or  lower.  The  exploitation 
of  skepticism  creates  a  cold  wave  in  the  atmos- 
phere. Speaking  to  a  New  York  millionaire 
who  had  in  early  life  been  greatly  interested 
in  the  church  and  its  work  the  writer  asked ; 
"Why  are  you  less  zealous  than  formerly  ? 
Have  you  become  skeptical  as  to  the  truths  you 
once  held  ?  "  Almost  savagely  the  millionaire 
replied :  "  I  am  weary  with  the  constant  at- 
tention which  the  ministers  pay  to  skepticism. 
I  am  a  member  of  many  clubs  and  I  meet  on 
intimate  terms  many  of  the  wealthy  and  influ- 
ential men  of  New  York,     I  know  how  they 


120    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

feel  concerning  religion  and  the  church.  At 
heart  they  are  orthodox.  They  believe  in  the 
great  verities — God,  sin,  salvation,  immor- 
tality. They  do  not  care  to  sit  through  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  latest  phase  of  German  ration- 
alism or  English  agnosticism.  They  feel  the 
need  of  the  appeal  to  conscience  which  they 
heard  as  boys  and  which  has  so  largely  dis- 
appeared from  many  pulpits.  We  know  our 
duty,  we  need  to  be  stirred  up  to  do  it."  It  is 
the  will  and  not  simply  the  intellect  or  the 
emotions  that  we  must  reach.  Great  courses 
of  apologetics  are  fitting  for  universities  and 
seminaries  but  in  revival  services  the  crisis  is 
a  crisis  of  life  and  to  life  must  the  appeal  be 
made.  A  testimony  is  better  than  an  argument 
and  a  fresh  miracle  in  the  transformation  of  a 
wicked  life  is  the  thing  which  brings  convic- 
tion to  wavering  hearts.  The  creed  we  need 
to  utter  is  the  blind  man's  creed,  "  This  I  hnowy 
that  whereas  I  was  once  blind  now  I  see."  A 
sermon  aglow  with  positive  beliefs  does  more 
than  any  other  in  the  salvation  of  men.  The 
Gospel  applied  is  its  own  best  defense. 


XIII 
SPECIAL  REVIVAL   PERIODS 

It  is  true  that  every  church  should  be  in 
such  a  condition  of  spiritual  alertness,  that  it 
would  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  spirit 
of  things  for  one  to  make  profession  of  his 
purpose  to  lead  a  Christian  life  at  any  of  the 
services  of  the  church.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
in  every  church  there  may  be  from  month  to 
month  those  who  will  yield  themselves  to 
Christ,  but  it  is  also  true  that  something  more 
than  this  condition  is  necessary  if  the  church 
is  to  do  its  greatest  work  in  any  community. 
There  is  a  certain  intensity  which  is  the  result 
of  cumulative  thought  and  effort  which  is 
necessary  to  bring  the  church  to  its  highest 
eflBciency  and  the  community  to  the  realiza- 
tion of  its  need.  The  concentration  of  the 
entire  strength  of  faith  and  effort  upon  a  par- 
ticular point  produces  marvellous  results. 

Nothing  can  be  more  reasonable  and  philo- 
sophic than  special  and  protracted  revival  serv- 
ices. It  is  the  method  adopted  to  push  any 
great  reform.     It  is  the  method  of  every  po- 

121 


122    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

litical  campaign.  There  is  a  power  in  it  that 
is  a  wonder  even  to  those  who  have  most  used 
it.  But  it  must  be  pressed  with  holy  daring. 
It  must  not  stop  short  of  victory.  I  have 
never  in  my  ministry  said,  "  We  will  observe  a 
week  of  prayer,  and  if  the  service  proves  of 
sufficient  interest,  we  will  continue  it  the  next 
week,  and  if  we  cannot  stop  then,  we  will  add 
other  days  of  service."  I  announced  to  my 
brethren  early  in  the  year,  "  We  are  going  to 
take  January  next  for  revival  services.  Every- 
thing else  must  be  laid  aside.  No  services 
will  be  held  in  church  save  those  which  relate 
to  this  particular  work.  The  meetings  will  be 
held  every  night  for  the  entire  month."  If  it 
is  objected  that  God  has  set  times  to  favour 
Zion,  and  that  we  have  no  right  to  say  when 
that  time  shall  be,  I  answer  there  is  no  greater 
heresy  on  earth  than  that  idea.  God's  time 
is  now.  The  whole  air  is  full  of  Pentecosts 
which  have  never  come  down  because  there 
was  no  resting  place  for  the  cloven  tongues. 
If  there  had  been,  Pentecosts  would  have 
fallen  long  ago. 

I  have  heard  of  an  old  minister  who  said 
he  had  been  pastor  in  a  certain  town  for  forty 
years.    He  found  that  the  Lord  came  to  that 


Special  Revival  Periods  123 

town  every  seven  years,  and  when  asked  to  co- 
operate in  a  revival  effort,  said,  "  It  is  only  three 
years  since  the  last  visitation  and  there  is  no 
use  in  asking  God  for  a  revival  for  four  years." 
Are  you  saying,  "  I  wonder  if  God  will  send 
us  a  revival "  ?  You  need  not  wonder !  The 
angels  in  heaven  wonder  that  you  have  not 
had  one  each  passing  year.  The  emphasis 
which  I  wish  to  note  in  these  special  meetings 
is  that  of  cumulative  power.  I  have  held 
meetings  for  a  week,  and  there  was  little  re- 
sponse. Once  or  twice  I  have  held  meetings 
for  two  weeks  without  special  evidence  of  re- 
vival power,  but  I  have  never  held  meetings 
for  three  weeks  consecutively  that  something 
did  not  happen.  You  and  your  people  cannot 
keep  on  your  knees  before  God  and  work  for 
Him  faithfully  face  to  face  with  your  friends 
in  their  homes  and  places  of  business,  for  three 
consecutive  weeks,  without  getting  some  mar- 
vellous results.  It  would  be  worth  tens  of 
thousands  of  converts  to  the  Christian  Church 
in  America  if  our  pastors  would  undertake  it. 
Many  a  pastor  has  been  defeated  because  he 
dared  too  little.  He  must  enter  his  work  with 
"  Holy  boldness."  This  last  phrase  I  had  oc- 
casion once  to  use  in  addressing  a  company  of 


124    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

ministers  of  different  denominations.  For 
some  reason  it  seemed  especially  to  impress 
one  of  our  strong  and  well  known  preachers. 
He  could  not  get  it  out  of  his  mind.  All  the 
week  it  kept  recurring  to  his  thought  and  he 
found  himself  forced  to  shape  his  work  for  the 
following  Sunday  to  harmonize  with  it.  Up  to 
that  time  he  had  seldom  made  a  special  ap- 
peal for  men  to  seek  God  at  the  close  of  the 
morning  service,  but  this  thought  so  took  pos- 
session of  his  soul  that  he  called  his  officiary 
together  on  Sunday  morning  before  the  ser- 
mon, and  told  them  his  impressions,  and  that 
he  should  rely  upon  them  to  help  in  the  morn- 
ing service.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon  he 
sent  these  men  down  the  aisles,  urging  them 
to  speak  with  the  unconverted  whom  they 
knew,  and  when  he  gave  the  invitation,  more 
than  thirty  men  and  women  followed  the 
pastor  and  his  officers  to  the  inquiry  room, 
and  gave  their  heart  to  God.  The  pastor  said 
it  was  the  greatest  day  in  his  ministry,  and  all 
due  to  an  act  of  "Holy  boldness."  It  is 
sometimes  objected  that  the  officers  and  mem- 
bers of  the  church  will  not  sustain  the  pastor 
in  special  work  of  this  kind.  That  matter  is 
largely  in  his  own  hands.    When  the  tender- 


Special  Revival  Periods  125 

ness  of  a  great  yearning  is  upon  him,  the  peo- 
ple will  feel  its  power.  The  aroma  of  prayer 
will  be  about  him,  and  all  men  will  take 
knowledge  of  him  that  he  has  been  with 
Jesus.  The  thoughtless  may  talk  of  "  work- 
ing up  "  an  interest  and  call  such  special  effort 
a  man-made  revival,  but  we  have  always  found 
God  ready  to  honour  the  work  of  men  whose 
hearts  were  yielded  up  to  work  His  holy  pur- 
pose. It  is  a  fair  question  to  ask  whether  the 
man-element  is  more  apparent  in  the  stagna- 
tion of  a  dead  church  or  in  the  efforts  which 
make  it  possible  for  God  to  crown  the  work  of 
faith  with  His  sanction  and  abundant  blessing. 
The  preacher  must  commune  with  God  until 
he  gets  the  burden  of  souls  upon  him.  He 
must  be  so  in  love  with  those  for  whom  Christ 
died  that  he  will  count  everything  else  second- 
ary to  the  winning  of  them.  It  is  not  enough 
to  please  men  or  even  to  stir  them.  They 
must  be  won.  Here  is  the  test  of  our  ministry 
and  of  our  spiritual  power.  There  is  a  show 
of  truth  in  the  words  we  hear  from  honoured 
sources.  "  Evangelism  is  bringing  the  evangel 
or  gospel  into  contact  with  the  unsaved,  and  it 
is  for  contact,  not  conversion  that  the  church 
is  responsible."    But   that   statement  of  the 


126    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

truth  is  so  partial  that  it  is  responsible  for 
many  a  failure.  Men  have  taken  refuge  in  it 
from  the  result  of  a  nerveless  and  half-hearted 
deliverance  of  the  truth.  God  only  can  bring 
final  deliverance  to  the  soul,  but  until  we  have 
trodden  the  path  towards  the  Promised  Land 
to  where  the  brine  of  the  Eed  Sea  is  flying  in 
our  faces  we  have  no  right  to  stand  still  and 
wait  His  power.  Even  then  God  says  to  us  as 
to  Moses,  "  Speak  to  the  children  of  Israel  that 
they  go  forward."  It  is  objected  that  the  un- 
converted will  not  come  to  these  special  serv- 
ices and  the  result  of  them  is  almost  entirely 
confined  to  the  members  of  the  church.  Per- 
haps no  question  is  more  frequently  asked  me 
than  this  one,  "  How  do  you  get  the  people  to 
come  to  revival  meetings  ?  "  My  answer  is, 
It  is  my  custom  to  spend  the  forenoon  in  get- 
ting ready  to  preach  at  night,  for  I  preach 
myself  nearly  every  night  during  the  revival 
services.  The  afternoon  I  spend  visiting  my 
parishioners.  I  go  into  the  offices  of  the  people 
and  into  their  homes.  I  try  to  bring  them 
face  to  face  with  Christ.  To  help  me  in  find- 
ing the  places  where  I  could  visit  with  most 
hope  of  success,  I  have  distributed  at  the  Sun- 
day services  a  card  indicating  interest  in  Chris- 


Special  Revival  Periods  127 

tian  things.  On  the  first  Sabbath  of  my  re- 
vival meetings  during  the  last  few  years  these 
cards  have  been  signed  by  persons  not  mem- 
bers of  my  church  and  not  professing  Chris- 
tians, to  the  number  of  nearly  a  hundred. 
Now,  then,  I  had  the  names  and  addresses  of 
a  hundred  people.  They  had  virtually  said  to 
me  by  that  card  that  they  would  like  to  see 
me  and  talk  to  me  about  their  souls.  So  I 
had  only  to  see  them  and  say,  I  have  received 
your  card,  and  I  have  come  to  talk  with  you. 
I  learn  of  their  cares  and  sorrows  and  needs, 
of  their  temptations  and  their  heart  yearnings. 
I  become  intensely  interested  for  their  salva- 
tion, and  I  bring  the  matter  to  them,  urging  a 
present  decision.  Almost  every  day,  in  parlour 
or  ofiice,  I  have  had  two,  three  or  half  a  dozen 
people  promise  before  God  that  they  would 
give  themselves  to  Christ,  and  that  they  would 
make  a  public  confession  of  their  desire  to 
serve  Him,  and  kneeling  together  we  have 
dedicated  ourselves  to  God.  When  I  went  to 
the  revival  services  that  night,  I  went  with 
jubilant  heart.  I  looked  the  audience  over 
and  I  said,  "  Yes,  there  they  are.  There  will 
be  something  done  to-night."  I  preached  as 
though    I    expected    something.     When    the 


128    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

three  or  more  that  I  knew  about  arose  to  their 
feet  upon  my  invitation,  there  were  a  dozen 
others  in  the  room  who  saw  it  and  said  to 
themselves,  "I  had  no  idea  that  these  men 
were  religiously  interested ;  if  they  are  con- 
cerned for  their  souls,  it  is  time  I  thought 
about  this  myself,"  and  so  they  joined  the 
others  in  their  holy  quest,  and  going  to  the 
altar  they  found  peace,  and  there  was  joy  in 
heaven  for  wanderers  coming  home. 

It  is  often  objected  that  a  reaction  is  sure 
to  follow  such  special  interest.  That  need 
not  be  true.  Your  interest  will  simply  take 
another  form.  Now  you  must  put  your 
special  effort  into  the  training  of  those  who 
come  into  the  church.  Look  after  them  care- 
fully. In  converts'  classes,  or  by  other 
method  of  religious  instruction,  urge  them  to 
have  a  share  in  all  the  activities  of  the  church. 
Give  special  impulse  to  the  work  of  the  Sun- 
day-school. Begin  some  special  philanthropic 
work  that  your  community  may  need.  In  a 
score  of  ways  the  alert  pastor  will  be  able  to 
direct  the  spiritual  activities  of  his  converts  so 
that  there  shall  be  no  signs  of  reaction  either 
with  them  or  with  the  church.  They  are  per- 
sonally acquainted  one  with  another.    Their 


Special  Revival  Periods  129 

own  pastor  and  their  own  friends  were 
specially  interested  in  bringing  them  to  Christy 
and  they  will  never  cease  to  be  careful,  and 
can  readily  be  built  into  the  fabric  of  the 
church. 


xiy 

METHOD  OF  REVIVAL  WORK 

Elsewhere,  we  have  spoken  of  the  neces- 
sity of  personal  devotion  if  we  are  to  win  the 
community  to  Christ.  In  the  following  chap- 
ter we  will  give  some  methods  that  have  been 
approved  by  experience  in  evangelistic  service. 

1.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
officiary  of  the  Church  should  become  inter- 
ested in  these  meetings.  Nothing  will  interest 
them  so  much  as  to  be  taken  into  the  pastor's 
confidence  and  made  sharers  in  his  plans. 
Months  before  the  meetings  are  to  be  held,  the 
matter  should  be  talked  over  in  official  meet- 
ings. Instead  of  a  long  and  profitless  session 
on  financial  incidentals,  go  to  prayer.  What 
does  the  Church  stand  for  ?  How  came  you 
into  it  ?  What  proof  are  you  making  of  your 
stewardship  ?  Why  are  you  an  official  ?  In 
what  are  you  an  example  to  the  flock  of 
Christ  ?  Heart-to-heart  searching  ;  earnest 
prayer  to  God  that  they  be  not  cumberers  of 
the  ground  ;  a  cry  that  they  may  be  sharers  in 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom — such  exercises 
130 


Method  of  Revival  Work  131 

as  these  under  the  direction  of  a  spirit-filled 
pastor  will  make  the  deadest  board  meeting  a 
Pentecostal  season.  Too  much  cannot  be  said 
about  the  pastor's  attitude.  He  must  wait 
before  God  until  he  has  absolute  faith  in  the 
coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  be  fairly  on 
tiptoe  with  expectancy.  There  is  no  place 
here  for  faithless  spies.  If  the  pastor  sees 
only  the  Anakim  and  is  a  grasshopper  in  their 
sight  and  in  his  own,  he  had  better  run  before 
the  battle  is  on.  A  grasshopper's  legs  are  the 
best  part  of  him  and  they  are  made  for  flight. 
If  a  pastor  cannot  influence  his  own  officiary, 
the  chances  of  influencing  the  world  and  the 
Church  are  not  great.  He  need  not  win  them 
alone  or  at  one  session.  If  he  has  but  three 
like-minded  with  himself,  these  four  can  lay 
hold  of  a  fifth,  and  the  weight  of  influence  and 
persuasion  will  speedily  be  too  heavy  for  any 
but  the  most  hardened  to  throw  off.  In  the 
meantime  apply  the  same  methods  to  the 
Church.  Let  the  prayer-meetings  have  the 
ring  of  a  great  expectancy.  Get  the  dish 
right  side  up  against  the  time  of  refreshing, 
and  unexpected  showers  may  bless  the  thirsty 
land.  More  than  once  when  we  were  plan- 
ning for  a  revival  season  the  revival  broke  out 


132    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

in  the  prayer-meeting  and  every  week  saw 
many  conversions.  Side  track  all  save  the  de- 
votional meetings  of  the  Church.  Have  at 
least  one  month  in  the  year  when  the  Church 
can  say  of  its  religious  work,  "  This  one  thing 
I  do." 

2.  Advertise  the  meetings  so  that  the  com- 
munity will  know  that  something  is  going  on. 
Gold  dollars  cannot  be  sold  even  for  ninety 
cents  unless  the  community  know  about  the 
matter.  The  newspapers  will  generally  lend 
their  assistance  if  properly  approached.  Do 
not  ask  the  editor  to  write  the  notice.  Write 
that  yourself  and  hand  it  to  him.  He  may 
not  publish  it  as  you  have  written  it,  but  find 
out  by  repeated  attempts  what  he  will  publish 
and  cultivate  the  newspaper  instinct. 

Make  your  membership  a  board  of  publicity. 
Give  them  a  little  card  that  can  be  put  into  all 
their  letters.  Give  them  a  window  card  that 
can  be  put  in  the  grocery  store  window  or  in 
any  shop  or  store  where  they  may  work. 
Have  a  pretty  card,  small  and  nicely  printed, 
that  they  can  hand  to  their  friends  or  to  any 
stranger  they  may  meet.  Have  some  proper 
notice  on  the  church  edifice  calling  attention 
to  the  meetings,  and  above  all,  have  plenty  of 


Method  of  Revival  Work  133 

light  both  outside  and  inside  the  Church. 
Every  theatre  is  a  blaze  of  light,  almost  blind- 
ing the  eyes  of  the  passer-by,  while  our  church 
entrances  are  so  gloomy  that  they  look  by 
contrast  like  the  door  of  a  sepulchre.  If  our 
Christ  is  the  light  of  the  world,  why  not  make 
His  Church  the  light  of  the  street  where,  it 
stands  ? 

3.  Now  we  come  to  the  inside  of  the 
Church  and  the  service  itself.  Begin  on  time, 
and  begin  with  the  singing  of  the  great  hymns 
of  the  Church.  Perhaps  we  may  as  well  speak 
at  this  point  of  the  matter  of  music  in  the 
service.  ]S"othing  is  of  so  much  help  in  this 
direction  as  a  large  and  well-trained  chorus. 
Make  much  of  it,  but  do  not  cheat  the  people 
of  the  right  to  sing.  The  Welsh  revival  was  a 
singing  revival,  and  since  the  days  of  the  Lol- 
lards the  Church  has  greatly  prospered  where 
it  has  fulfilled  the  Apostolic  injunction, — 
"  Speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms  and  hymns 
and  spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  mel- 
ody in  your  heart  to  the  Lord."  The  pastor 
will  doubtless  seek  a  gospel  soloist  and  he  will 
doubtless  have  trouble  in  securing  one  that 
will  be  satisfactory.  The  demand  for  men 
and  women  whose  ability  and  consecration  are 


134    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

of  the  first  order  is  greater  than  the  supply,  a 
remark  which  is  equally  true  in  many  fields. 
For  the  last  generation  the  evangelistic 
preacher  has  usually  had  a  singer  to  help  him 
in  the  service.  Men  have  gone  out  "two  and 
two,"  and  their  names  have  been  coupled  in 
popular  speech.  It  is  Moody  and  Sankey, 
Torrey  and  Alexander.  In  the  cases  named, 
and  in  others  which  might  be  mentioned,  the 
singer  was  as  truly  a  man  with  a  message  as 
was  the  preacher,  and  thousands  of  men  have 
been  swept  into  the  kingdom  by  waves  of  holy 
song.  But  not  every  pastor  can  secure  a 
Sankey  or  an  Alexander,  and  we  are  con- 
vinced that  much  of  the  solo  singing  in  the 
average  revival  meeting  is  an  impertinence  in 
the  sight  of  God,  a  mortification  to  the  pastor 
and  an  obstacle  to  the  truth.  To  take  some 
irreligious  singer  and  allow  him  to  sing  be- 
cause he  has  a  good  voice  is  to  show  utter  dis- 
regard of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Such  a  service  is  a 
distinct  hindrance  to  revival  work,  if  indeed  it 
does  not  completely  negative  the  pastor's  ef- 
forts. An  "  artistic "  singer,  an  irreligious 
singer  and  a  poor  singer  are  each  a  burden 
which  may  damage  a  revival  service  beyond 
remedy.    If  you  have  some  one  who  has  a 


Method  of  Revival  Work  135 

sweet  voice  and  a  pure,  religious  life,  who  can 
sing  a  simple  and  soulful  invitation  with  as 
much  yearning  of  heart  as  the  preacher  knows, 
by  all  means  let  him  sing.  By  such  songs 
men  are  lifted  up  to  God.  But  be  sure  that  a\ 
good  singer  does  not  sing  a  poor  song.  In 
songs  the  goats  far  outnumber  the  sheep,  and 
the  sentimental  ditties  that  have  palms  and 
pearls  and  stars  and  angels  and  crowns  and 
other  things  that  sound  religious,  but  have  no 
real  thought,  are  an  affliction  to  thoughtful 
people,  both  saints  and  sinners.  For  music, 
nothing  is  better  than  the  great  hymns  of  the 
Church,  sung  by  the  great  congregation.  Let/ 
such  take  the  place  of  solos  of  doubtful  merit 
and  melody. 

4.  Of  the  method  to  be  followed  in  preaching 
we  speak  elsewhere,  and  discuss  at  length  in 
another  chapter  methods  of  drawing  the  net. 
I  wish  to  say  here  what  I  have  elsewhere 
hinted,  that  the  man  to  preach  in  those  serv- 
ices is  the  pastor  himself.  While  much  can  be 
said  of  the  wisdom  of  employing  evangelists 
in  special  cases,  the  purpose  of  this  book  is  to 
help  every  pastor  to  become  his  own  evangelist. 
This  is  the  crying  need  of  the  Church  to-day. 
This  duty   must  not   be  laid  upon  another. 


136    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

Any  man  can  move  men  to  God,  when  he  is 
himself  moved  of  God.  It  is  not  in  human 
nature  to  stand  the  pleading  of  a  breaking 
heart.  I  therefore  say  to  every  pastor,  "  Do 
your  own  preaching."  If  you  feel  the  need  of 
the  help  of  your  brethren,  get  it  in  some  minis- 
terial retreat.  But  when  it  comes  to  the  re- 
vival service,  throw  your  whole  soul  into  it 
and  depend  upon  God  and  your  Church  for 
help.  Good  results  have  doubtless  come  from 
meetings  in  which  several  pastors  have 
preached  on  succeeding  nights,  but  careful  and 
long-continued  observation  has  convinced  us 
that  more  is  lost  than  is  gained  by  sharing  re- 
sponsibility with  others. 

Face  this  issue  with  "  Holy  boldness  "  and 
absolute  trust  in  God.  Let  it  be  fully  under- 
stood by  your  soul  that  there  is  no  compromise, 
no  retreat,  no  surrender.  The  battle  must  be 
fought  to  a  finish  and  at  the  end  there  will  be 
thrilling  victory  or  ignoble  defeat  for  the  work 
of  G#d.  Nothing  but  a  crisis  like  that  will 
nerve  some  men  to  their  work.  The  harder 
the  battle,  the  nearer  is  God  to  the  man  who 
fights  for  Him  in  faith. 

Perhaps  I  have  already  spoken  with  suffi- 
cient fullness  concerning  the  method  of  evangel- 


Method  of  Revival  Work  137 

istio  preaching,  but  let  me  add,  preach  the  good 
news  and  preach  it  with  a  bugle  note.  Do  not 
use  the  Yox  Humana  or  the  Tremolo  stop 
too  much.  Pull  out  the  Yox  Divina,  and 
now  and  then  let  on  the  Diapason.  We  have 
not  sufficiently  exalted  the  Christ  as  Lord  and 
King.  We  keep  Him  nailed  to  the  cross  as  if 
we  had  forgotten  that  His  life  knew  only  six 
hours  on  the  cross  and  unnumbered  ages  on  the 
throne.  The  prints  of  the  nails  will  never 
fade  out  of  His  palms,  but  they  are  hidden  by 
the  sceptre  which  He  holds. 

What  a  mine  the  Bible  opens  to  the  seeker 
after  evangelistic  truth !  People  are  always 
interested  in  life.  The  biography  of  the  great 
men  of  the  Bible  will  never  cease  to  charm  and 
move  the  world.  The  life-story  of  the  men  of 
old  is  as  fresh  as  the  last  pang  of  our  own  con- 
science. Nothing  can  be  more  effective  than 
the  experiences  which  made  Abraham,  Jacob 
and  Esau,  Moses,  Joshua  and  David  the  men 
which  they  became.  These  are  the  men  who 
people  the  Hall  of  Fame  opened  in  the  eleventh 
chapter  of  Hebrews,  and  their  lives  will  move 
men  until  the  ages  are  no  more. 

What  material  the  messages  of  the  prophets 
furnish,  to  send  home   the  truths  of  God  to 


138    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

sinning  men !  Above  all  are  the  words  of 
Jesus — words  of  spirit  and  life.  A  strange 
power  is  in  them,  and  the  miracles  they  work 
to-day  prove  their  divine  origin.  Still,  as  of 
old,  blind  men  see,  deaf  men  hear,  lepers  are 
cleansed  and  the  dead  come  to  life  at  His 
word. 

5.  For  the  use  of  personal  workers  it  is 
very  desirable  to  have  a  card  with  a  simple 
statement  of  purpose,  which  will  be  a  conven- 
ient form  of  registering  the  decision  of  any  who 
are  ready  to  begin  a  Christian  life.  The  card 
we  use  has  on  it  these  words  :  — "  Accepting 
Jesus  Christ  as  my  personal  Saviour,  I  desire  to 
confess  my  purpose  to  lead  henceforth  a  Chris- 
tian life."  We  have  found  it  specially  advan- 
tageous to  organize  our  workers  into  an  Evan- 
gelistic Committee,  with  each  person  pledged 
to  actually  bring  into  the  Church  at  least  one 
convert.  We  have  furnished  each  one  with  a 
card  and  duplicate  and  have  put  each  name 
down  on  the  roll.  The  duplicate  is  to  be  re- 
turned to  the  pastor  with  the  names  of  those 
who  will  join  the  Church.  Frequent  meetings 
are  called  to  inquire  how  many  have  succeeded 
in  bringing  one,  and  how  many  have  multi- 
plied that  number.     The  successful  workers 


Method  of  Revival  Work  139 

tell  of  their  method,  and  all  are  greatly  stimu- 
lated. The  card  and  duplicate  read  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Evangelistic  Committee.  \^. 

Looking  to  the  Holy  Spirit  for  direction,  I  am 
willing  to  undertake  the  winning  of  at  least  one 
soul  to  a  personal  choice  of  Christ  and  to  admission 
into  membership  in  His  Church. 

Name 

Address 

Duplicate. 

Looking  to  the  Holy  Spirit  for  direction,  I  am 
willing  to  undertake  the  winning  of  at  least  one 
soul  to  a  personal  choice  of  Christ  and  to  admission 
into  membership  in  His  Church. 

Name 

The  following  persons  will  come  into  Church 
fellowship :  — 

Name 

Name 

Name 


XY 
DRAWING  THE  NET 

We  take  it  for  granted  that  the  sermon  is 
such  as  leads  up  to  and  makes  necessary  the 
drawing  of  the  net.  It  is  at  this  point  that 
many  pastors  and  evangelists  fail.  Here,  both 
spirit  and  method  have  room  for  full  play. 
To  ask  men  to  decide  for  Christ  at  the  close  of 
a  sermon  which  has  only  remotely  suggested 
the  necessity  for  such  action  is  a  useless  thing. 
.  The  whole  course  of  the  sermon  must  direct 
'  the  thought  of  the  listeners  towards  this  act 
as  the  fitting  climax  of  the  service.  Every 
argument,  illustration  and  appeal  must  con- 
verge upon  this  moment.  This  is  the  "  Valley 
of  Decision  " ;  now  is  the  accepted  time.  "What 
is  your  answer  to  the  call  of  God  ? 

I  know  of  no  place  in  Christian  work  where 
the  promise,  "  According  to  your  faith  be  it 
unto  you,"  applies  with  greater  force  than  in 
the  giving  of  the  invitation  at  the  close  of  the 
sermon.  If  that  is  given  in  a  doubtful  man- 
ner, it  may  as  well  not  be  given  at  all.  The 
audience  must  see  faith  and  expectancy  in  the 
140 


Drawing  the  Net  141 

preacher's  whole  appearance  or  it  will  not 
respond.  He  must  show  that  he  believes  in 
God  and  in  the  manifestation  of  His  presence 
at  that  particular  time. 

But  some  timid  pastor  says,  "  That's  just  the 
point.  I  am  afraid.  I  do  not  believe  any- 
thing is  going  to  be  done,  and  I  show  it.  Can 
you  help  me  ?  "  There  is  a  very  plain  course 
indicated  in  God's  Word.  Nothing  generates 
faith  like  prayer.  Pray  earnestly,  "  Lord,  in- 
crease our  faith."  If  you  need  to  have  some- 
thing tangible  on  which  to  build  your  faith, 
we  have  found  an  excellent  help,  which  we 
have  described  in  another  chapter.  Go  out  in 
the  afternoon  to  those  in  the  community  most 
likely  to  give  themselves  to  God.  Keep  at 
your  work  until  you  find  some  whose  hearts 
are  tender  and  who  will  promise  to  come  to 
the  meeting  at  night  and  make  public  con- 
fession of  their  purpose  to  seek  Christ.  Now 
when  you  see  these  persons  in  the  audience, 
your  faith  will  kindle.  You  have  the  assur- 
ance that  your  appeal  will  not  go  unregarded, 
and  when  some  have  come,  others  are  almost 
sure  to  follow. 

The  following  methods  of  invitation  have 
been  found  usefuL    Ask  the  congregation  to 


142    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

kneel  or  bow  in  prayer.  When  all  are  thus 
engaged,  ask  any  who  wish  the  prayers  of  the 
people  that  they  may  act  up  to  the  light  they 
have,  to  rise.  Call  upon  some,  who  can  be 
trusted,  to  pray,  and  ask  seekers  to  rise  during 
the  prayers.  Again,  ask  the  congregation  to 
rise  and  sing  some  sweet  hymn  of  invitation. 
After  each  verse  speak  briefly,  and  ask  the  un- 
converted to  come  to  the  altar.  We  have 
frequently  asked  those  who  were  converted 
before  they  were  twenty  years  of  age  to  rise 
and  have  asked  if  there  were  not  others  of  that 
age  who  would  join  them.  Applying  this 
method  to  different  ages  has  helped  many  to 
make  their  first  public  move.  It  is  often  help- 
ful to  ask  those  who  have  friends  for  whom 
they  are  specially  praying  to  gather  at  the 
altar.  The  sight  of  friends  and  relatives  there 
whom  the  unconverted  knew  were  praying 
for  them  has  often  led  them  to  join  those  at 
the  altar.  Requests  for  prayers  on  behalf  of 
friends  have  often  been  very  effectual.  Prob- 
ably no  method  is  so  effective  in  moving  peo- 
ple to  declare  their  purpose  to  begin  a  Chris- 
tian life  as  the  use  of  a  card  to  be  signed  and 
handed  to  the  pastor. 

Directly  after  the  sermon,  a  card  should  be 


Drawing  the  Net  143 

handed  to  each  person  in  the  audience,  whether 
professed  Christian  or  not.  While  the  people 
are  signing  these  cards,  the  pastor  may  give  a 
word  of  tender  exhortation,  or  some  impressive 
hymn  or  solo  may  be  sung.  When  proper 
time  has  been  given  for  the  signatures,  all  the 
cards,  signed  and  unsigned,  should  be  col- 
lected, and  all  signatures  handed  by  the  col- 
lectors to  the  pastor. 

Whether  these  persons  are  converted  re- 
mains to  be  seen.  The  signing  of  a  card  may 
mean  much  or  little,  according  to  the  attitude 
and  temperament  of  the  signer  ;  but  it  means 
this  at  least  in  the  case  of  every  honest  signa- 
ture, "  I  am  interested  for  my  soul's  salvation. 
I  am  doing  this  as  an  act  that  will  help  to  put 
me  in  right  relations  to  God."  They  have 
committed  themselves  as  seekers  after  God. 
The  way  is  now  open  for  the  pastor  and  work- 
ers to  bring  every  influence  to  bear  that  will 
tend  towards  the  desired  result. 

If  the  church  is  accustomed  to  an  "  Altar 
Service,"  urge  all  seekers  to  come  to  the  altar, 
whether  or  not  cards  have  been  used.  Now  is 
the  time  to  settle  the  question  forever.  Hold 
the  meeting  with  a  firm  grip.  Do  not  try 
doubtful  experiments.     Do  not  ask  a  stranger 


144    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

to  offer  prayer  or  run  the  risk  of  "  strange 
fire  "  in  answer  to  a  general  invitation.  If  no 
one  conies  to  the  altar,  do  not  be  discouraged 
and  do  not  stop.  This  is  the  crucial  moment. 
Hold  steadily  and  happily  on.  Yary  your  in- 
vitation,— sing  a  verse,  give  an  incident,  but 
hold  on.  The  most  fruitful  period  of  the 
meeting  is  usually  the  last  fifteen  minutes. 
Possess  your  soul  in  faith  and  patience  and  do 
not  cease  until  victory  comes. 

If  the  inquiry  room  is  preferred  to  the  altar, 
the  exercises  which  were  preliminary  to  the 
altar  services  will  still  be  in  place.  There  are 
times  when  it  is  wise  to  allow  that  part  of  the 
audience  not  interested  directly  in  the  altar 
service  to  pass  out  during  the  singing  of  a 
hymn.  The  pastor  will  then  feel  that  he  is 
surrounded  by  those  who  are  sympathetic,  to 
some  degree  at  least,  with  the  service,  and  he 
will  feel  at  liberty  to  hold  as  long  a  meeting 
as  need  may  require.  If  the  after  service  is 
held  in  the  room  where  the  sermon  was 
preached,  we  have  often  found  it  well  to  hold 
a  short  service  of  testimony  after  those  who 
wished  to  go  had  passed  out.  This  centres  the 
attention  of  all  upon  Christian  experience. 
Often  in  asking  young  people  to  decide  for 


Drawing  the  Net  145 

God,  we  have  requested  those  who  had  for- 
merly confessed  Christ  to  come  forward  and 
give,  in  a  word,  their  reason  for  so  doing,  and 
remain  with  the  pastor.  In  a  large  congrega- 
tion we  have  often  had  fifty  or  a  hundred 
young  men  thus  standing  at  the  altar.  This 
was  a  most  impressive  object  lesson  and  one 
which  moved  others  to  take  the  step  which 
these  had  recommended.  The  exalting  of 
Christian  experience  is  of  great  value  in  a  re- 
vival service. 

If  another  room  is  chosen  for  the  after  serv- 
ice, it  should  be  easily  reached  and  conven- 
iently arranged.  Great  wisdom  and  solicitude 
will  be  necessary  to  induce  those  who  ought  to 
go  to  venture,  and  the  most  devoted  and  the 
wisest  Christians  should  go  with  the  pastor 
and  help  in  personal  work. 

We  have  indicated  some  of  the  methods 
which  experience  has  approved,  but  in  revival 
work  the  spirit  is  of  more  account  than  the 
method.  A  heart  full  of  love  and  zeal  is  sure 
to  find  some  winning  way  of  approach. 


XYI 

UNION  MEETINGS 

The  question  of  union  evangelistic  services 
is  an  open  one.  There  is  much  to  be  said  in 
favour  of  a  movement  that  shall  interest  all 
the  churches  in  a  community  in  some  general 
religious  effort.  If  properly  conducted,  the 
churches  are  brought  nearer  together,  pastors 
and  members  become  better  acquainted  with 
one  another,  and  the  town  or  city  is  edified  to 
see  their  united  front  in  aggressive  spiritual 
work.  I  have  frequently  known  of  move- 
ments for  civic  righteousness  which  have  re- 
sulted from  union  services.  During  the  last 
few  years  many  cities  have  been  greatly 
moved  towards  God  by  union  services  con- 
ducted by  accredited  evangelists.  The  results 
which  have  attended  them,  so  far  as  the  gen- 
eral community  was  concerned,  would  seem  to 
be  much  greater  than  would  have  resulted 
under  more  limited  services  in  individual 
churches.  The  public  press  gives  notices  of 
the  services  and  prints  extracts  from  the  ser- 
mons. People  who  do  not  go  to  church  have 
146 


Union  Meetings  147 

their  curiosity  aroused  and  frequently  are  led 
to  attend  these  meetings  to  their  lasting 
benefit.  All  this  and  much  more  can  truth- 
fully be  said  in  favour  of  union  evangelistic 
meetings. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  most  suc- 
cessful meetings  I  have  known  in  the  number 
of  conversions  and  actual  additions  to  the 
membership  of  the  churches  have  not  been 
union  meetings.  In  the  union  services  the 
sense  of  personal  responsibility  on  the  part  of 
pastor  and  members  seems  to  be  lessened.  It 
is  very  easy  to  shirk  a  general  duty.  There  is 
always  the  feeling  that  somebody  else  will  do 
the  work,  and  that  somebody  else  is  quite  as 
responsible  as  are  we  for  the  success  of  the 
enterprise.  The  writer  once  received  an  invi- 
tation to  hold  union  services  from  a  committee 
representing  sixty  churches  in  a  great  city. 
He  was  promised  an  audience  room  that  would 
hold  3,000  people,  and  assured  of  the  sympathy 
and  support  of  the  sixty  pastors.  He  was  un- 
able to  undertake  the  work  and  wrote  to  the 
committee,  making  this  suggestion :  If  your 
sixty  pastors  will  each  hold  special  meetings  in 
his  own  church,  if  only  a  hundred  persons  are 
present  at  each  service,  that  will  make,  in  the 


148    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

aggregate,  6,000  people,  at  least,  twice  as  many 
as  you  would  have  in  your  union  service,  and 
if  sixty  pastors,  drawing  their  official  men 
about  them,  will  give  themselves  wholly  to 
this  special  work,  each  in  his  own  church, 
among  those  whom  he  personally  knows,  and 
the  responsibility  for  whose  salvation  rests  in 
a  special  manner  upon  him,  we  are  persuaded 
that  the  number  of  conversions  will  be  many 
times  greater,  and  the  additions  to  the  several 
churches  will  be  greatly  increased  over  that 
which  would  result  from  general  services,  and 
a  sense  of  personal  victory  and  blessing  will 
abide  with  every  church,  which  would  be  im- 
possible under  the  other  conditions.  I  am 
persuaded  that  a  great  element  in  spiritual 
victory  is  that  the  church  and  pastor  must  feel 
in  some  way  that  they  are  dependent  solely 
upon  God  and  themselves.  If  success  does  not 
come  no  one  can  be  blamed  but  themselves. 
The  battle  is  on.  There  are  no  reserves  to  be 
called  up.  It  is  a  fight  to  the  finish,  and  vic- 
tory will  be  theirs  if  only  they  will  do  their 
full  duty.  There  can  be  no  defeat  if  they  will 
follow  God  fully  as  did  Caleb.  The  purpose 
of  this  book  throughout,  is  an  appeal  to  the 
individual   church  and  pastor  and  member. 


Union  Meetings  149 

Here  must  lie  the  victory.  It  is  the  crux  of 
the  whole  situation.  The  sooner  we  are  ready 
to  pay  the  price,  the  sooner  we  shall  win. 
There  are  a  few  accredited  evangelists  in  our 
country.  They  are  kept  busy  all  the  time,  and 
could  multiply  themselves  indefinitely,  if  only 
they  were  able  to  do  it,  but  they  can  be  in 
but  one  place  at  a  time.  Only  a  score  of  cities 
at  the  most  can  expect  to  have  the  advantage 
of  their  services  in  any  given  year.  What  is 
to  become  of  the  thousands  of  cities  that  cannot 
secure  them  ?  If  the  work  of  Christ  in  Amer- 
ica depends  upon  these  men,  great  and  power- 
ful as  they  are,  and  honoured  of  God  as  they 
unquestionably  are  in  the  winning  of  men, 
there  will  yet  be  awful  dearth  of  spiritual 
interest,  and  evil  forces  will  gain  victories 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our 
land.  The  only  hope  in  the  winning  of  our 
land  to  Christ  rests  upon  the  individual  pastor 
and  the  individual  church.  If  we  can  have  a 
hundred  thousand  pastors  who  are  inspired  of 
God  and  yield  themselves  to  His  holy  pur- 
poses, and  if  only  a  score  of  members  were  to 
join  each  of  them  in  uttermost  devotion,  this 
would  give  us  a  power  in  every  town  and  city 
which  would    be  simply  irresistible.    While 


150    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

admitting  all  that  can  be  said  in  favour  of 
union  services,  we  still  insist  upon  the  indi- 
vidual pastor  and  the  individual  church  culti- 
vating their  own  field  as  the  ideal  of  Christian 
service  and  the  centre  of  evangelistic  power. 


XYII 

EVANGELISM  IN  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

It  is  enough  to  make  us  thoughtful  when 
we  reflect  that  the  problem  of  the  Church  of 
God  in  America  a  generation  hence  must  be 
settled  in  the  Sunday-school  and  settled  now. 
Of  the  present  condition  Trumbull  has  well 
said  :  "  America  has  been  practically  saved  to 
Christianity  by  the  Sunday-school." 

Twelve  millions  of  students,  most  of  them 
in  the  formative  period  of  their  lives  are  within 
easy  touch.  They  are  eager  to  know  the  truth 
and  so  susceptible  to  good  impressions  that 
Jesus  said, "  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Have  we  met  our  obligations  with  the  chil- 
dren ?  Dr.  Goucher  gives  us  facts  which  hu- 
miliate us  beyond  measure.  He  says,  "  Eighty- 
seven  per  cent,  of  the  church  members  in  this 
country  were  Sunday-school  scholars.  Yet  it 
is  estimated  that  only  twenty  per  cent,  of  the 
Sunday-school  scholars  are  brought  into  the 
church  while  they  are  in  the  school,  and  only 
twenty  per  cent,  join  after  leaving  the  school. 
That  is,  on  the  average,  in  every  class  of  G.Ye, 
151 


152    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

one  is  converted  while  in  the  school,  one  after 
leaving  it,  and  the  other  three  go  away  from 
their  teacher  unsaved  and  die  in  that  condition. 
What  an  arraignment  of  our  methods  and  de- 
votion these  facts  present.  There  is  nothing 
more  imperative  than  a  consecrated  application 
of  a  sane  method  of  spiritual  work  among  our 
youth.  The  officers  and  teachers  in  our  Sun- 
day-schools hold  the  key  to  the  situation  as  to 
the  progress  of  the  church  and  fearful  will  be 
their  condemnation  if  they  are  not  true  to  their 
high  calling. 

It  is  because  we  are  deeply  impressed  by  this 
fact  that  we  give  in  this  volume  so  much  at- 
tention to  evangelism  in  the  Sunday-school.  It 
is  personal  evangelism  in  the  highest  sense  that 
we  are  to  inculcate.  The  teacher's  personality 
is  the  greatest  factor  in  winning  the  scholar  to 
Christ.  If  that  personality  is  unselfish  and 
consecrated  miracles  of  grace  may  be  wrought 
but  if  it  is  self-indulgent  and  untrue  it  must 
answer  for  the  spiritual  death  of  those  whom 
it  might  have  saved. 

To  speak  on  the  definite  presentation  of  the 
evangel  to  our  classes  opens  the  whole  question 
of  individual  soul-winning,  and  this  is  the  key 
to  evangelism  in  the  Sunday-school.    Charles 


Evangelism  in  the  Sunday-School    153 

M.  Alexander,  the  singing  mate  of  Dr.  Torrey, 
tells  us  that  he  worked  in  the  Moody  Bible  In- 
stitute for  two  years  without  doing  personal 
work.  He  simply  did  the  singing  and  went 
home  when  that  was  done,  but  he  soon  became 
convinced  that  personal  work  was  the  one 
thing  he  ought  to  be  doing.  When  he  was  in 
London  he  called  upon  Mr.  Stead,  the  greatest 
interviewer  of  the  age,  and  said  to  him,  "  I 
have  always  wondered  how  in  the  world  you 
interviewed  these  people.  Start  on  me ;  I  want 
to  see  how  you  do  it."  Stead  turned  his  big 
bulk  and  big  eyes  towards  him  and  said  sud- 
denly, "  What  are  you  in  London  for  ?  "  Alex- 
ander's comment  is,  "  It  made  me  shake  but  I 
have  never  forgotten  it."  As  a  teacher,  ask 
yourself  in  all  seriousness  the  question,  "  Why 
am  I  here,  what  can  I  do  to  win,  and  how  shall 
I  know  when  I  have  won  ?  "  You  can  teach 
botany  in  your  class,  but  your  teaching  is  a 
failure  if  your  botany  does  not  lead  to  the 
Kose  of  Sharon.  There  are  good  lessons  in 
geology,  but  the  rock  you  are  after  is  the  Kock 
of  Ages.  The  geography  of  Bethlehem  and 
Calvary  it  is  worth  your  while  to  make  plain, 
but  no  one  would  care  where  these  places  are 
but  for  the  things  which  happened  there.    Paul 


154    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

dismisses  Greek  philosophy  with  the  scant 
courtesy  of  a  brief  sentence  and  fastens  that 
episode  to  his  life  work  with  so  loose  a  connec- 
tive as  a  disjunctive  conjunction.  All  these 
things  may  have  their  value.  Anything  that 
enforces  and  illustrates  the  truth  is  of  use,  but 
it  is  the  truth  and  not  the  illustration  that  is 
to  occupy  the  centre  of  the  picture.  There  is 
a  lesson  in  the  old  story  of  the  artist  who 
painted  the  Last  Supper  with  such  elegance  of 
detail  on  the  cup  in  the  Master's  hand  that  it 
quite  outshone  the  Master's  face.  Ah,  teacher 
and  preacher,  the  Master's  face  must  be  the 
centre  of  our  picture  I  And  the  personal  sur- 
render of  each  heart  to  Him  is  the  supreme  ob- 
ject of  all  our  teaching. 

To  do  this  personal  heart-to-heart  work  is  a 
very  difficult  thing  for  many  teachers.  They 
shirk  from  invading  sacred  territory,  and  feel 
that  the  personality  of  the  scholar  should  be 
respected  to  the  extent  that  he  should  take  the 
initiative — and  nothing  personal  should  be  said 
by  the  teacher  until  the  scholar  has  invited  it. 

I  do  not  for  a  moment  contend  that  such  an. 
attitude  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  indicates  that 
he  has  no  piety  in  his  own  heart  and  no  con- 
scientious desire  to  do  faithful  work.     While 


Evangelism  in  the  Sunday-School    155 

it  is  true  that  the  first  prerequisite  of  evan- 
gelistic work  is  the  evangelistic  heart,  not 
every  teacher  who  has  the  evangel  on  his  heart 
can  deliver  it.  I  know  of  nothing  so  neces- 
sary at  this  point  as  prayer.  I  confess  that  I 
have  found  it  difficult  to  do  this  kind  of  work, 
and  I  found  it  necessary  to  seek  a  strength 
greater  than  my  own.  The  impelling  power 
and  sustaining  grace  of  prayer  is  wonderful. 
Things  which  were  impossible  before  become 
easy  now.  The  mountain  is  removed  and  cast 
into  the  sea  and  a  holy  ardour  fills  your  heart 
to  bring  the  good  news  of  salvation  to  those 
who  need  it  without  regard  to  their  knowledge 
of  the  need. 

In  order  to  nourish  and  develop  this  power  it 
is  necessary  to  keep  it  in  constant  use.  If  you 
ask  how  to  begin,  the  advice  of  Mr.  Moody  to 
Dr.  Torrey  is  as  sensible  as  it  is  brief.  "  Go  at 
it."  Here,  as  everywhere  else  in  the  Christian 
life,  the  worst  thing  that  can  be  done  is  to  do 
nothing.  Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull,  that  master 
of  individual  soul-winning  says,  "  The  experi- 
ence with  my  first  young  convert  in  the  army 
encouraged  me  in  my  individual  work.  I  saw 
that  it  were  better  to  make  a  mistake  in  one's 
first  effort  at  a  personal  religious  conversation 


156    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

and  correct  that  raistake  afterwards  than  not 
to  make  any  effort.  There  can  be  no  mistake 
so  bad  in  working  for  an  individual  soul  for 
Christ  as  the  fatal  mistake  of  not  making  any- 
honest  endeavour." 

There  is  a  mistaken  notion  entertained  by 
many  teachers  that  ought  to  be  corrected. 
Teachers  frequently  say,  "I  do  not  dare  to 
speak  to  my  young  people  about  personal  re- 
ligion lest  I  shall  offend  them."  Let  me  say 
in  reply,  you  quite  misunderstand  the  situa- 
tion. You  will  offend  the  average  scholar  by 
not  speaking  to  him  about  his  soul,  and  proba- 
bly by  your  failure  you  will  lose  your  influ- 
ence with  him  in  other  directions.  He  knows 
why  you  are  in  your  place.  If  you  are  honest 
you  made  a  solemn  contract  with  God  and 
your  own  soul  to  teach  His  Word — to  teach  it 
without  reserve,  and  to  put  the  first  things 
first.  The  scholar  came  to  your  class  with  a 
distinct  understanding  as  to  what  you  would 
undertake  to  do.  His  parents  also  entrusted 
you  with  their  child,  expecting  that  you  would 
do  the  thing  which  God  and  the  Church  had 
commissioned  you  to  do,  and  which,  by  accept- 
ing that  commission,  you  promised  to  under- 
take.   Your  class  came  to  you  for  bread,  and 


Evangelism  in  the  Sunday-School    157 

if  you  offer  them  but  a  stone  they  will  not  be 
slow  to  detect  the  imposition ;  and  they  will 
rate  you  accordingly. 

If  we  are  ready  for  personal  work  the 
method  of  it  will  now  claim  our  attention. 
"Winning  souls  is  in  one  sense  an  art.  It  must 
be  practiced  in  order  to  obtain  proficiency, 
and  we  must  study  the  best  method  of  conver- 
sation. There  was  wisdom  in  Father  Taylor's 
oft-repeated  remark,  "  Let  your  conversation 
be  seasoned  with  salt.  Don't  use  a  whole 
handful  of  it."  An  impressive  five  minutes 
may  be  of  greater  service  in  winning  a  young 
heart  than  a  half  hour  spent  in  steady  talk 
upon  one  theme.  One  clear  cut  sentence  will 
fasten  itself  upon  a  child's  mind,  never  to  be 
shaken  off,  and  will  bear  fruit  through  life ; 
the  approach  must  be  in  such  form  as  to  con- 
ciliate rather  than  antagonize.  Paul  was  wise 
when  instead  of  thundering  against  the  Atheni- 
ans for  their  idolatry  he  graciously  said,  "I 
perceive  that  you  are  very  religious."  But 
this  kindly  method  must  lack  neither  zeal  nor 
conscience.  Uncle  John  Yassar  was  a  good 
example  of  the  zealous  Christian.  One  day  he 
noticed  in  the  hotel  corridor  a  gentleman  and 
his  wife  engaged  in  conversation.  Soon  the  gen- 


158    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

tleman  went  out,  leaving  the  lady  alone.  She 
was  disengaged  and  was  apparently  a  stranger 
and  Uncle  John  approached  her.  In  his  genial 
way  he  passed  from  the  commonplaces  of 
greeting  to  the  matter  that  was  on  his  heart, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  he  was  talking  with  her 
about  her  soul.  She  had  once  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church,  but  a  worldly  husband,  and 
the  cares  which  wealth  brings,  had  turned  her 
away  from  her  Christian  life.  Her  eyes  filled 
with  tears  under  the  earnest  exhortation  of 
the  man  of  God  and  she  promised  she  would 
come  back  to  the  good  way.  While  they  were 
talking  the  husband  returned  and  Uncle  John 
withdrew.  "  Who  was  that  man  and  what 
was  he  talking  to  you  about  ? "  "I  do  not 
know  his  name,"  said  his  wife,  "but  he  was 
talking  with  me  about  my  Christian  life." 
The  husband  noticed  her  tears  and  said, 
"  Well,  he  had  better  have  been  about  his  busi- 
ness." "  Ah,"  said  she,  "  if  you  had  heard 
him  you  would  have  thought  he  was  about 
his  business." 

One  of  the  most  successful  teachers  of  boys 
whom  we  have  ever  met  is  a  recent  convert 
from  Komanism.  His  method  of  instruction 
is   very  interesting.     The  great  and  solemn 


Evangelism  in  the  Sunday-School    159 

truths  are  presented  in  the  most  impressive 
manner.  There  is  no  attempt  at  story  telling. 
There  is  almost  nothing  to  provoke  a  smile  or 
to  divert  the  attention  from  the  great  truths 
being  presented.  High  ideals  are  constantly 
set  forth.  From  being  disorderly  and  hard  to 
manage  the  boys  have  become  models  of  good 
behaviour,  and  the  parents  speak  of  the  entire 
transformation  of  the  boys  in  their  attitude 
towards  religion  in  their  home  life.  It  is  a 
mistaken  notion  that  boys  cannot  be  held  to 
the  contemplation  of  great  themes.  High 
ideals  are  nowhere  so  powerful  and  fascinating 
as  to  the  heart  of  youth.  The  moral  and  re- 
ligious nature  vie  with  the  physical  in  the  de- 
mand for  exercise  and  opportunity,  and  that 
teacher  and  parent  is  wisest  who  meets  this 
demand  in  all  eagerness  and  in  all  serious  con- 
cern. 


XYIII 
WAYS  OF  REACHING  THE  YOUNG 

The  question  of  where  and  how  to  approach 
a  scholar  religiously  must  be  answered  largely 
by  the  scholar's  temperament.  Much  can  be 
done  in  the  class.  The  incidental  word  which 
seems  to  come  without  premeditation,  with  no 
set  purpose  to  produce  immediate  action,  be- 
comes a  nail  in  a  sure  place  to  those  who  are 
thoughtful  and  intent  upon  the  teacher's  every 
word. 

Some  incident  of  the  lesson  will  have  force 
far  beyond  all  laboured  argument  if  it  seems 
to  come  in  a  natural  way  and  the  scholar  is 
left  to  draw  his  own  conclusions.  Such  was 
the  dialectic  method  of  Jesus.  "While  His  par- 
ables had  in  them  the  most  telling  lessons, 
those  lessons  were  all  the  more  effective  be- 
cause they  seemed  so  far  apart  from  formal 
religious  truth. 

There  is  another  class  of  scholars  that  will 
see  nothing  that  is  not  actually  forced  upon 
their  attention  by  repeated  and  definite  state- 
ment. With  them  it  must  be  "  line  upon  line 
1 60 


Ways  of  Reaching  the  Young     161 

and  precept  upon  precept."  "  Why  do  you 
tell  that  child  the  same  thing  twenty  times 
over  ?  "  said  the  father  of  the  Wesley s  to  their 
mother.  "  Because  nineteen  times  are  not 
enough,"  said  the  wise  Susannah.  These  oft- 
repeated  maxims  are  the  ones  that  remain  with 
a  child  and  bear  good  fruit  when  the  lips  that 
spoke  them  can  speak  no  more. 

No  study  of  nature  can  compare  with  the 
study  of  the  child-nature.  The  teacher  whose 
soul  is  not  stirred  by  it  must  be  lacking  either 
in  head  or  heart.  What  experiments  can  be 
so  full  of  interest  as  those  which  are  rewarded 
by  the  kindling  of  a  soul  and  the  consecration 
of  a  life  ?  Be  watchful,  therefore,  and  let 
wisdom  wait  upon  devotion,  that  we  may 
know  the  truths  which  most  easily  influence 
each  child  life. 

It  is  this  personal  work  that  counts  for  most 
in  the  winning  of  the  world.  Dr.  Henry  Clay 
Trumbull,  than  whom  few  have  been  more 
skillful  in  addressing  great  assemblies,  wrote, 
a  little  time  before  his  death  :  "  Looking  back 
upon  my  work  in  all  these  years  I  can  see 
more  direct  results  of  good  through  my  indi- 
vidual efforts  with  individuals  than  I  can  know 
of  through  all  my  spoken  words  to  thousands 


l62    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

upon  thousands  of  persons  in  religious  assem- 
blies, or  all  my  written  words  on  the  pages  of 
periodicals  or  of  books.  Beaching  one  person 
at  a  time  is  the  best  way  of  reaching  all  the 
world  in  time." 

It  is  important  that  something  should  be  said 
about  the  time  and  place  for  presenting  per- 
sonal truth  to  the  scholar's  mind.  If  the 
teacher's  duties  begin  and  end  with  the  hour 
of  the  school  session,  of  course  my  question  is 
already  settled,  and  equally,  of  course,  the 
teacher  who  so  believes  and  acts  is  a  cumberer 
of  the  ground  and  takes  the  place  of  a  better 
man.  The  teacher  in  the  school  or  college 
who  does  nothing  for  his  scholars  outside  of 
the  recitation  hour  is  soon  asked  to  resign.  In 
our  common  schools  the  successful  teacher 
takes  the  parents  into  his  confidence.  He 
asks  them  to  visit  the  school.  He  inquires 
about  the  scholar's  habits  and  characteristics 
and  asks  the  cooperation  of  home  influences  in 
making  his  work  successful. 

These  facts  open  a  vast  field  to  us  by  way 
of  suggestions  in  the  prosecution  of  Bible  study 
with  the  young.  If  we  are  asked  when  to 
present  the  personal  choice  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
a  scholar,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  our  answer. 


Ways  of  Reaching  the  Young     163 

Children  are  imitators.  They  may  imitate  the 
good  as  well  as  the  bad.  Many  a  boy  has 
been  led  to  give  his  heart  to  God  because  his 
friends  had  already  done  so  or  were  waiting  to 
go  with  him  in  such  a  step.  The  class  presen- 
tation of  this  choice  is  therefore  wise  and  may 
bring  great  results.  But  we  are  certain  that 
many  are  so  constituted  that  they  will  not 
consider  so  serious  a  matter  in  so  public  a  way. 
The  most  conscientious  are  likely  to  hesitate 
if  pressed  to  decision  in  the  class.  They  will 
not  take  the  step  because  some  one  else  has 
done  so.  They  must  think  it  over  in  private, 
and  their  indifference  or  their  hostility  must 
be  overcome  in  a  personal  way  quite  remote 
from  the  method  of  class  persuasion. 

Invite  the  scholar  to  your  home.  Become 
interested  in  his  work,  in  his  studies,  in  him. 
Let  him  feel  that  nothing  which  concerns  him 
is  alien  to  you.  Then  you  can  present  the 
matter  which  is  of  supreme  interest  and  gain  a 
friendly  hearing.  Or  if  you  cannot  invite  the 
scholar  to  your  home,  you  may  go  to  his,  but 
you  will  need  great  wisdom  to  make  that  visit 
greatly  count.  Possibly  his  parents  are  not 
Christians;  then  you  must  win  them.  Per- 
haps they  are  nominal  Christians,  and  yet — 


164    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

alas,  the  pity  and  the  shame  of  it — do  nothing 
to  lead  their  own  sons  or  daughters  to  give 
their  hearts  to  Christ.  Nay,  more — their 
home  life  may  be  such  that  it  gives  the  lie  to 
all  their  profession,  and  constitutes  the  chief 
barrier  you  will  have  to  overcome  in  your 
work  of  winning  a  soul.  If  you  undertake  to 
urge  a  scholar  to  come  to  Christ  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  hostile  or  indifferent  parent,  you 
have  committed  a  blunder,  if  not  a  sin.  If 
you  cannot  bring  father  or  mother  to  become 
your  ally,  a  visit  to  the  park  or  a  trolley  ride 
with  your  scholar,  or  any  one  of  a  score  of  op- 
portunities which  present  themselves,  will  be 
better  than  a  visit  in  a  worldly  or  indifferent 
home. 

Let  us  lay  siege  to  that  home  if  we  care  for 
the  weal  of  its  members  as  well  as  the  weal  of 
the  community.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  half  the  infidels  of  the  country  would 
have  been  lovers  of  God  if  they  had  been 
rightly  nourished  at  home.  We  shall  spend 
our  time  to  little  purpose  if  we  have  only  one 
hour  a  week  in  which  to  instruct  our  youth 
and  then  send  them  for  all  the  other  hours  of 
the  week  to  hear  and  do  the  things  that  over- 
throw our  teaching. 


Ways  of  Reaching  the  Young     165 

In  this  connection  we  wish  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  superintendents  and  pastors  to  the 
great  advantages  that  result  from  the  holding 
of  mothers*  meetings.  No  part  of  our  work 
has  paid  us  better  returns.  A  social,  with 
pleasing  features,  has  been  arranged,  and  all 
the  mothers  connected  with  one  or  all  the  de- 
partments of  the  school  receive  a  neat  card  of 
invitation.  After  a  brief  social  chat  and  an 
informal  introduction  of  the  mothers  to  one 
another  by  the  teachers  and  workers  there  is 
a  brief  address  by  the  superintendent,  in  which 
a  report  is  made  of  the  attendance  and  other 
items  of  interest  in  connection  with  the  ses- 
sions of  the  school  during  the  quarter.  The 
fact  that  the  parents  can  fill  the  school  by 
kindly  urging  their  children  to  come,  is  dwelt 
upon,  and  incidents  are  related  showing  how 
happy  the  children  are  in  their  fellowship 
with  one  another  and  with  their  teachers. 
Then  follows  a  pleasing  entertainment  by 
members  of  the  school  in  part  and  in  part  by 
the  best  talent  that  can  be  secured.  After 
this  light  refreshments  are  served  by  the  of- 
ficers and  teachers.  No  mother  is  left  with- 
out personal  attention,  and  the  effort  is  made 
to  have  each  teacher  come  into  the  kindliest 


i66    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

personal  relations  with  the  mothers  of  her 
class.  The  mothers  and  teachers  compare 
notes,  and  then  seek  to  be  mutually  helpful  in 
the  development  of  the  young  people  com- 
mitted to  their  care. 

The  pastor  is  always  present,  and  does  more 
pastoral  work  here  than  could  be  accomplished 
in  many  days  in  the  usual  way.  His  interest 
in  the  children  gives  him  a  warm  place  in 
the  hearts  of  the  mothers,  and  they  are  inter- 
ested to  have  the  children  in  touch  with  him. 
The  brief  address  which  the  pastor  gives  at 
the  close  of  the  entertainment  he  counts  as 
one  of  the  greatest  opportunities  of  his  min- 
istry. The  outline  of  the  address  at  the  meet- 
ing preceding  Decision  Day  is  something  as 
follows : 

No  one  has  so  many  cords  drawing  them 
to  Christ  as  has  a  mother.  God  has  given  her 
an  unspeakable  dignity.  He  has  allowed  her 
to  kindle  a  spark  which  will  still  shine  on 
when  the  stars  have  burned  down  to  their 
sockets  and  gone  out.  Once  your  child  was 
not ;  he  will  never  cease  to  be,  and  what  he  is 
for  all  the  eternities  depends  upon  you  more 
than  upon  any  other  agency  in  the  world. 
God  gave  you  a  soul  to  train,  not  for  yourself 


Ways  of  Reaching  the  Young     167 

but  for  Him,  not  for  time  but  for  eternity. 
You  are  concerned  to  know  what  he  will  do, 
but  the  thing  that  interests  God  and  the  angels 
is,  What  will  he  he.  Character  is  greater  than 
place.  Your  child  is  here  not  to  make  a  liv- 
ing but  to  grow  a  soul.  What  you  can  do  to 
help  in  that  work  must  be  done  now.  A  little 
while  and  it  will  be  too  late.  There  is  only 
one  chance  out  of  four  that  your  child  will 
become  a  Christian  after  he  is  twenty  years 
old. 

If  you  have  not  given  your  own  heart  to 
God,  how  can  you  train  another  life  for  Him  ? 
If,  by  and  by,  you  should  stand  on  the  outside 
of  a  grated  door  and  your  boy  from  the  in- 
side of  his  prison  cell  should  say,  "  Mother, 
you  never  showed  me  the  way  to  a  Christian 
life  by  your  own  example,  you  never  guided 
me  into  the  path  which  would  have  kept  me 
from  this  shame,"  what  could  you  say  ?  Ab- 
solutely nothing.  You  knew  the  Christian 
path  was  the  path  of  safety,  but  you  did  not 
take  it.  You  knew  the  snares  of  the  fowler 
were  spread  for  the  feet  of  your  sons  and 
daughters,  but  you  did  not  warn  them  of  their 
danger,  nor  lead  them  to  Christ,  their  only 
helper.    And  now  it  is  too  late  I    May  God 


i68    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

in  His  mercy  save  you  from  a  shame  like  that  I 
There  are  few  mothers  who  will  not  be  moved 
by  a  heart-felt  appeal  of  that  sort. 


XIX 

THE  PREPARATION  FOR  DECISION  DAY 

When  asked  at  what  time  the  training  of  a 
child  should  begin,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 
answered  ''  a  hundred  years  before  he  is  born." 
If  that  was  a  wise  answer,  it  will  also  be  wise 
in  a  more  limited  field  to  say  concerning  the 
matter  of  preparation  for  Decision  Day  that  it 
should  begin  at  least  as  soon  as  the  child 
joins  the  Sunday-school.  There  should  be  a 
steady  trend  towards  one  result — the  personal 
choice  of  Jesus  Christ  as  Kedeemer  and  Guide 
on  the  part  of  each  scholar. 

In  spiritual  as  in  all  other  matters  it  is  of 
incalculable  advantage  to  have  a  particular 
point  to  work  towards  and  a  definite  time  at 
which  one  should  arrive.  We  so  easily  excuse 
ourselves  and  allow  procrastination  to  wait 
upon  indifference  that  we  need  a  frequent  Day 
of  Judgment.  It  is  indecision  which  slays  us, 
and  if  we  are  to  amount  to  anything,  we  must 
not  simply  approximate, — we  must  actually 
decide. 

Lest  we  should  be  misunderstood,  we  hasten 
169 


lyo    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

to  say  that  it  would  be  a  calamity  to  teach 
that  there  is  only  one  day  of  decision  in  the 
entire  year,  and  that  any  who  do  not  settle 
the  great  question  of  the  soul  then  must  wait 
another  year.  Some  fruit  will  mature  quicker 
that  others,  but  in  nature  there  is  a  general 
harvest-time  for  which  the  farmer  makes  prep- 
aration as  for  a  fitting  and  expected  thing, 
and  we  cannot  do  otherwise  in  our  work. 
There  is  a  time  to  plant  the  seed  and  a  time  to 
nourish  and  cultivate  it,  but  if  there  is  no  time 
to  reap  and  no  fruit  upon  the  vine  in  time  of 
harvest,  we  are  but  poor  husbandmen  and  we 
have  nothing  to  show  for  our  toil  under  the 
sun. 

Agreed  that  we  must  make  Decision  Day  an 
event  of  great  importance,  it  is  worth  our 
while  to  see  in  what  way  we  can  best  prepare 
ourselves  to  reap  a  proper  harvest. 

Our  first  preparation  must  be  of  the  spirit. 
As  we  near  the  day  we  ought  often  to  go  to 
our  closets  and  pray  with  increasing  longing 
and  deepening  vision.  In  the  realm  of  chem- 
istry and  of  physics  there  are  great  laws  of  af- 
finity which  underlie  all  processes,  and  in  the 
realm  of  the  spirit  it  is  not  otherwise.  Like 
produces  like.     For  the  best  results  the  teacher 


The  Preparation  for  Decision  Day  171 

must  needs  cultivate  a  rapt,  a  tender  and  an 
eager  spirit.  Only  when  we  are  sensitive  to 
the  moving  of  the  Holy  Spirit  will  we  find 
others  responsive  to  us.  It  was  this  sensitive- 
ness which  gave  Brainerd  power  "  to  open  the 
infinite  riches  of  divine  grace,  and  this  in  such 
a  manner,  with  such  freedom  and  pertinency 
of  pathos  and  application  to  the  conscience  as, 
1  am  sure,  I  never  could  have  made  of  myself 
by  the  most  assiduous  application  of  the 
mind." 

Unless  one's  soul  is  stirred  to  preparation  by 
the  importance  of  the  day  so  soon  to  come,  his 
scholars  will  be  unmoved.  If  it  is  not  worth 
his  while  to  do  every  last  thing,  that  he  may 
be  in  touch  with  the  Infinite  and  filled  with 
compelling  power,  it  is  doubtful  whether  his 
scholars  will  feel  the  importance  of  inclining 
their  hearts  unto  God,  that  they  may  hear  His 
message  and  live. 

Secondly,  It  is  highly  important  that  a 
spirit  of  devout  expectancy  should  pervade  the 
school.  Short  prayer  meetings  at  the  close  of 
the  Sunday-school  hour,  or  better  still,  a  short 
season  of  prayer  directly  following  the  lesson, 
in  which  the  superintendent  and  pastor  shall 
bear  an  important  part,  will  greatly  help  in 


172    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

the  development  of  that  spirit.  These  are  the 
days  when  pastor,  superintendent  and  teacher 
should  impress  upon  the  school  that  Christian- 
ity is  not  primarily  a  system  to  rebuild  a 
human  ruin.  Thanks  to  the  mercy  of  God,  it 
may  become  that  if  awful  exigencies  require, 
but  the  blessedness  of  its  promulgation  lies  in 
the  fact  that,  if  it  be  adopted,  humanity  will 
never  become  a  ruin.  It  is  not  the  will  of  God 
that  a  life  should  waste  its  gold  with  prodigal 
hand  in  the  morning  and  then  grope  in  the 
shadows  of  the  evening  to  find  now  and  then 
a  remnant  of  what  it  once  threw  away. 
"  Seek  Me  early  and  ye  shall  find  Me,"  is  the 
cry  of  heavenly  wisdom.  The  kingdom  of 
God  is  a  kingdom  where  a  child  is  discovered 
on  the  throne.  Let  him  never  be  taken  from 
it,  for  Jesus  put  him  there. 

These  are  not  pleasant  words  for  a  careless 
parent  or  Sunday-school  teacher  to  read, — "  It 
were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were 
hanged  about  his  neck  and  that  he  were 
drowned  in  the  depths  of  the  sea." 

Tell  the  young  people  that  the  time  when 
character  is  fixed  is  during  the  period  when 
most  of  them  attend  Sunday-school.  Tell 
them  that  ninety-two  per  cent,  of  the  Christian 


The  Preparation  for  Decision  Day  173 

Churches  in  America  were  gathered  into  its 
fellowship  before  they  were  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  and  the  vast  majority  before  they 
were  sixteen. 

When  will  we  teachers  realize  that  a  child 
cannot  make  progress  until  it  faces  in  the  right 
direction,  and  that  the  time  when  we  turn  to 
face  God  ward  is  the  greatest  hour  in  any  hu- 
man life  ?  The  ignorance  at  this  point  on  the 
part  of  many  parents  and  some  teachers  is 
monumental.  We  talk  about  religion  as  if  it 
were  a  matter  of  creed  and  law,  of  logic  and 
philosophy.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Christianity 
is  wholly  embraced  in  the  words  Love  and 
Life.  We  make  bold  to  say  that  a  child  who 
is  old  enough  to  love  and  obey  his  parents  is 
old  enough  to  love  and  obey  God.  Teach  him 
that  and  hold  him  to  it. 

As  a  matter  of  experience,  those  who  are 
converted  before  they  are  twelve  turn  out  bet- 
ter Christians  than  those  who  are  converted 
after  they  are  forty.  Spurgeon  used  to  say 
that  he  had  no  end  of  trouble  with  those  who 
came  into  the  Church  late  in  life  but  that  he 
had  never  lost  one  who  came  into  the  Church 
in  childhood.  We  would  far  rather  assume  re- 
sponsibility for  those  who  join  the  Church  be- 


1 74    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

fore  their  majority  than  to  assume  it  for  those 
who  join  after  they  have  passed  that  point. 

Give  the  children  the  results  of  the  statistics 
presented  by  Starbuck  and  Coe  and  other  in- 
vestigators into  the  spiritual  life  of  our  youth. 
Kemind  them  of  the  fact  that  the  soul  will 
reach  out  for  God,  and  will  not  be  denied,  just 
as  the  mind  reaches  out  for  knowledge  and  the 
body  for  exercise.  Teach  them  that  to  seek 
after  God  is  the  normal  condition  of  youth 
just  as  soon  as  it  reaches  the  highest  point  of 
its  nature.  Teach  them  that  an  ounce  of  for- 
mation is  worth  a  ton  of  reformation.  Open 
to  them  the  pages  of  Christian  history.  Show 
them  Timothy,  whose  strong  and  beautiful 
character  had  its  foundation  in  the  fact  exalted 
by  Paul : — "  From  a  child  thou  hast  known  the 
holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee 
wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus."  Eemind  them  of  the  fact  that 
Polycarp,  dying  at  ninety-five,  had  served  God 
eighty -six  years ;  that  Jonathan  Edwards  was 
converted  at  seven  years  of  age  ;  Isaac  Watts 
at  nine  ;  Matthew  Henry  at  eleven  and  Kobert 
Hall  at  twelve.  Chaplain  McCabe  was  con- 
verted at  eight  years  of  age  and  the  writer  of 
this  article  joined  the  Church  at  the  same  age. 


The  Preparation  for  Decision  Day  175 

Out  of  seventy-one  corporate  members  of  the 
American  Board  of  Missions  "nineteen  were 
converted  at  so  early  an  age  that  they  were 
unable  to  remember  it,  while  thirty-four  were 
led  to  Jesus  before  they  were  fourteen  years  of 
age."  In  a  recent  canvass  of  nine  hundred 
Church  members,  four  hundred  and  eighty-one 
were  converted  before  they  were  fifteen  years 
of  age. 

Such  facts  as  these  will  go  far  to  create  an 
atmosphere  that  will  be  exceedingly  helpful  to 
the  work  of  Decision  Day,  and  will  impress 
upon  parents  and  children  the  importance  and 
propriety  of  immediate  action  in  the  supreme 
question  of  life. 


XT 

DECISION  DAY 

We  must  now  take  it  for  granted  that  proper 
preparation  has  been  made  in  the  school  by 
superintendent  and  by  teachers  so  that  all  have 
an  intelligent  conception  of  the  importance 
and  the  propriety  of  the  day  and  in  order  that 
a  spiritually  expectant  atmosphere  may  enwrap 
the  school.  We  also  take  it  for  granted  that 
the  pastor  has  preached  a  clear  and  forceful 
sermon  on  the  relation  of  children  to  the  Chris- 
tian life,  with  the  result  that  the  thought  of 
parents  as  well  as  children  has  become  clarified. 
That  there  is  a  great  need  of  this  there  can  be 
no  question.  That  there  is  a  religion  of  child- 
hood just  as  genuine  as  the  religion  of  mature 
age  and  giving  ample  play  for  all  the  exuber- 
ance of  the  child  nature  seems  never  to  have 
occurred  to  some  excellent  people. 

The  writer  well  remembers  when  an  old 
Puritan  rang  the  door  bell  at  a  home  where  he 
saw  a  boy  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of  age 
who  had  just  joined  the  Church.  When  the 
father  appeared  at  the  door  the  Puritan  said  : 
176 


Decision  Day  177 

"  What  are  those  boys  doing  on  the  common 
yonder  ?  " 

"  I  should  think  they  were  playing  a  game 
of  ball." 

"  Yes,  they  are  playing  ball ;  and  who  is  that 
boy  throwing  the  ball  ?  " 

"It  looks  like  my  boy." 

"  Yes,  it  is  your  boy ;  and  I  have  called  you 
out  to  show  you  how  much  his  religion  amounts 
to.  How  would  you  know  that  he  is  a  Chris- 
tian ?  He  plays  just  as  hard  and  laughs  just 
as  loud  as  the  rest  of  them." 

Poor  old  man  !  He  did  not  know  any  bet- 
ter. However  will  he  get  along  if  he  should 
be  fortunate  enough  to  become  a  citizen  of  that 
city  where  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are 
little  children  and  which  "  city  shall  be  full  of 
boys  and  girls  playing  in  the  streets  thereof  "  ? 

With  a  clear  idea  of  the  application  of  re- 
ligion to  the  child-life  we  come  to  the  exercise 
appropriate  to  Decision  Day. 

The  school  will  open  after  the  usual  man- 
ner. Time  will  be  given  for  the  marking  of 
class  books,  taking  collections,  and  whatever 
incidental  matters  are  necessary.  This  is  a 
good  time  for  the  teacher  to  say  a  few  words 
to  the  class  which  shall  prepare  them  mentally 


lyS    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

and  spiritually  for  the  message  which  is  to  fol- 
low. We  have  tried  both  methods  but  we 
strongly  incline  towards  dispensing  with  the 
regular  lesson.  Do  not  try  to  hurry  through 
with  the  lesson  with  the  probable  result  of  over- 
running the  time  and  being  obliged  also  to 
hurry  through  with  the  rest  of  the  service. 
The  matter  in  hand  is  more  important  than  any 
single  lesson  can  be.  Take  time  properly  to 
attend  to  it. 

The  suggestions  which  we  now  desire  to  give 
have  reference  especially  to  that  department 
of  the  school  known  as  the  junior  or  inter- 
mediate department.  The  primary  department 
is  not  yet  ready  for  such  services  and  doubtless 
has  a  room  to  itself.  If  the  senior  and  the  in- 
termediate departments  meet  in  the  same  room, 
a  slight  change  of  method  may  be  necessary 
for  adults. 

When  all  preliminaries  have  been  attended 
to  have  a  short  season  of  prayer,  but  be  sure 
that  those  who  lead  know  how  to  pray. 
Formal  or  meaningless  prayers  will  utterly 
destroy  the  spirit  of  the  meeting  and  your 
Pentecost  will  not  come.  But  if  the  prayers 
are  truly  offered  in  the  Spirit,  nothing  will  go 
so  far  towards  impressing  all  hearts  that  we 


Decision  Day  179 

are  in  the  very  presence  of  God,  that  the  work 
in  hand  is  His  work,  and  that  we  are  abso- 
lutely dependent  upon  Him  for  spiritual  re- 
sults. If  there  are  those  in  the  school  who  are 
known  and  respected  as  spiritually  minded, 
and  who  are  deeply  evangelistic  in  heart,  they 
are  the  ones  to  offer  prayer.  Don't  ask  a  man 
to  pray  because  he  is  old,  or  wise,  or  rich,  or 
prominent.  Ask  only  the  man  or  the  woman 
who  knows  how  to  talk  with  God  so  that  God 
talks  back. 

After  prayer  the  following  method  of  brief 
addresses  was  once  tried  with  great  success : 
The  first  address  was  given  by  a  man  of  much 
ability  and  large  business  success,  who  was 
immensely  respected  by  all  classes  in  the  city, 
and  who  had  given  his  heart  to  God  when  but 
a  child.  His  address  was  upon  the  worth  and 
wisdom  of  the  Christian  choice.  To  have  such 
a  man  in  a  simple  and  heart-felt  way  tell  the 
story  of  his  own  life  and  urge  the  young  peo- 
ple to  the  choice  he  had  made  was  most  im- 
pressive. 

The  second  address  was  given  by  a  tj^pical 
Christian  mother.  She  was  a  woman  of  cul- 
ture and  social  standing,  one  who  had  trained 
her  own  children  in  the  fear  of  God  and  had 


i8o    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

seea  them  enter  spheres  of  wide  usefulness. 
Her  appeal  was  especially  to  the  young  ladies. 
She  reminded  them  of  their  opportunities  and 
of  their  temptations.  She  spoke  of  the  inane 
and  useless  life  of  the  worldly  and  flippant, 
and  told  them  only  Christ  could  give  them 
adequate  incentive  and  opportunity  for  a  noble 
and  useful  life.  She  spoke  with  all  the  yearn- 
ing of  a  mother  for  her  own  daughter  and  her 
appeal  was  almost  irresistible. 

Then  followed  a  few  heartfelt  words  from 
the  superintendent  expressing  his  solicitude  for 
every  pupil,  and  the  pastor  arose  asking  an 
immediate  decision  for  Christ.  He  emphasized 
the  waste  and  ruin  of  sin,  the  need  of  forgive- 
ness, and  the  joy  and  blessedness  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  He  said  that  youth  was  the  time 
when  all  the  great  questions  relating  to  char- 
acter and  life  must  be  settled  and  that  the 
hour  had  now  come  to  make  a  deliberate 
choice. 

After  such  an  address  let  the  pastor,  with- 
out any  attempt  to  move  upon  the  emotions 
of  the  children,  use  such  methods  as  he  thinks 
wise  to  indicate  the  purpose  of  the  young  peo- 
ple. Those  who  will  take  Christ  as  their 
personal  Saviour  may  be  asked  to  rise.    A 


Decision  Day  l8i 

moment  of  silent  prayer,  with  all  Christians 
asked  to  bow  their  heads  and  close  their  eyes 
while  others  are  asked  to  stand  for  Christ  is 
most  impressive.  The  teacher  will  gently 
urge,  where  it  is  wise,  those  who  hesitate  to 
make  the  choice,  and  then  it  will  be  time  for 
the  altar  service  or  the  inquiry  room,  with  the 
teacher  to  lead  the  way. 

It  has  often  happened  that  a  hesitating 
scholar  seeing  teacher  and  associates  go  for- 
ward has  felt  a  strange  yearning  to  go  with 
them  and  has  yielded  to  that  feeling. 

Before  the  service  opens  suitable  cards  have 
been  put  into  the  hands  of  the  teachers,  suf- 
ficient for  each  class,  containing  an  expression 
of  purpose  like  the  following :  "  Accepting 
Jesus  Christ  as  my  personal  Saviour,  I  desire 
henceforth  to  lead  a  Christian  life."  Or  that 
used  by  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman :  "  I  do  ac- 
knowledge Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour.  It  is 
my  honest  purpose  to  serve  Him  all  my  life." 

All  the  publicity  which  can  be  given  to  this 
personal  choice  will  be  helpful.  In  the  case 
of  children  in  churches  having  a  probation- 
ary system  we  would  urge  the  addition  of  a 
line  to  that  written  above  on  which  the 
parents  should  write  their  name  as  giving  con- 


l82    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

sent  for  the  child  to  come  into  the  church  on 
probation,  which  act  may  well  be  delayed  until 
the  step  is  thoroughly  understood  by  children 
and  parents.  Here,  then,  will  be  need  of  a 
visit  by  the  teacher  to  the  home,  as  many 
parents  who  are  not  members  do  not  under- 
stand the  system  of  probationary  training. 
The  card  would  then  read  : 

DECISION  DAY 
Calvaey  Methodist  Episcopal  Chubch, 
New  Yoek  City 
Accepting  Jesus  Christ  as  my  personal  Saviour,  I  desire 
henceforth  to  lead  a  Christian  life. 

Scholar's  name 

Address 

I  also  desire  to  be  enrolled  as  a  probationer  in  the  church. 

I  give  my  consent  to  such  enrollment. 
Parent's  signature 

An  impressive  close  befits  such  impressive 
services. 


XXI 

AFTER  DECISION   DAY 

After  the  new  birth  comes  the  new  life. 
A  moment  is  enough  for  life's  beginning,  but 
the  growing  of  a  soul  should  be  the  holy  and 
happy  business  of  a  lifetime.  In  that  the  ele- 
ments and  processes  of  growth  are  manifold. 
There  is  deep  philosophy  in  Dr.  Maltbie  Bab- 
cock's  quatrain : 

**  Back  of  the  loaf  is  the  snowy  flour 
And  back  of  the  flour  the  mill, 
And  back  of  the  mill  is  the  wheat  and  the  shower, 
And  the  sun,  and  the  Father's  will." 

A  strong  and  noble  life  is  the  result  of  or- 
derly consecutive  processes.  "The  kingdom 
of  God  Cometh  not  with  observation."  It  is 
not  a  night-blooming  cereus.  You  cannot  sit 
down  for  an  hour  and  watch  it  come  to  per- 
fection. It  is  first  but  the  blade  and,  after 
many  suns  and  showers,  it  is  the  tasselled  ear 
and,  after  summer  heat  and  autumn  frost,  it 
has  paid  the  price  of  verdure  for  the  prize  of 
the  golden  grain.  The  good  Father  knew  how 
183 


184    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

it  would  be  when  He  placed  the  voyager  Life 
in  the  frail  shallop  of  a  little  seed. 

Our  business  is  intelligently  and  patiently 
to  nourish  the  seed  as  it  climbs  to  the  altitude 
of  the  full  corn.  Now,  we  must  adapt  our 
teaching  to  the  mental  and  moral  condition  of 
our  boys  and  girls.  This  is  not  the  period 
when  abstruse  theological  questions  can  be 
settled.  The  mind  is  not  mature  enough  for 
that,  and  for  that  matter  much  of  our  theo- 
logical hair-splitting  and  heresy-hunting  is  a 
bootless  quest.  The  period  of  adolescence  is  a 
period  of  activity  and  a  period  of  affection. 
What  it  is  to  love  and  to  obey,  childhood  and 
youth  can  understand.  It  is  comparatively 
easy  to  teach  them  what  we  ourselves  need 
often  to  recall,  that  Christianity  is  not  a  set  of 
rules  first  and  a  life  growing  out  of  them.  It 
is  first  a  life,  and  the  only  rules  worth  while 
are  those  which  have  behind  them  the  proof 
of  experience.  The  child  needs  to  be  taught 
to  live  up  to  the  best  ideals.  He  will  later 
reason  out  why  such  a  course  is  best. 

There  must  be  some  religious  activity  in 
order  to  develop  the  religious  life  of  the  child. 
He  must  have  some  avenue  where  he  can  ex- 
press in  concrete  deed  his  new-found  life.    In 


After  Decision  Day  185 

this  great  care  is  necessary.  We  have  no 
commission  to  grow  a  new  crop  of  the  "  unco' 
guid "  such  as  went  to  an  early  grave  in  the 
typical  Sunday-school  book  of  a  generation 
ago.  Our  boys  must  not  only  be  good  but 
also  good  for  something.  Above  all  things 
let  us  teach  our  youth  to  be  natural  in  the  ex- 
pression of  their  religious  life.  A  sanctimoni- 
ous manner  and  an  assumed  tone  are  almost 
as  bad  in  the  Sunday-school  and  on  the  play- 
ground as  they  are  in  the  pulpit.  It  is  likely 
to  play  havoc  with  all  genuineness  of  life  and 
action,  and  when  that  is  gone  there  is  little 
left  that  is  worth  while.  Let  no  commenda- 
tion of  ours  put  a  premium  on  the  goody  goody 
platitudes  of  the  religious  prig.  First,  last  and 
all  the  time,  let  us  be  genuine.  Let  us  teach 
our  children  that  anything  is  better  than  de- 
ception, and  let  us  show  them  by  our  example 
that  to  be  true  to  one's  self  is  the  first  law  of 
the  Christian  life. 

This  leads  me  to  say  that  a  false  notion  has 
crept  into  the  Church,  that  one  temperament 
is  more  laudable  than  another  in  the  Christian 
life  and  that  certain  activities  will  receive  a 
greater  reward  than  those  of  another  sort. 
For  instance,  the  ecstatic  and  emotional  is 


i86    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

held  to  be  more  spiritual  than  the  practical 
temperament.  The  dreamer  is  always  ac- 
counted holier  than  the  man  of  sober  deed.  It 
is  indeed  blessed  to  see  visions  and  to  dream 
dreams,  but  dreams  that  do  not  eventuate  in 
action  will  at  last  enervate  and  debauch  the 
soul.  For  some,  the  Meditations  of  Thomas  a 
Kempis  and  the  Confessions  of  Augustine  are 
ideal  food,  and  those  who  revel  in  these  will 
be  quite  sure  that  a  life  as  practical  as  that  of 
Luther  or  Moody  is  on  a  much  lower  spiritual 
plane,  which  is  distinctly  not  true.  If  you 
will  look  at  the  ideal  life,  that  of  Jesus,  you 
will  find  the  happy  union  of  many  tempera- 
ments. It  would  be  difficult  to  say  which  one 
dominated.  If  you  wish  for  the  meditative, 
you  will  find  Him  alone  on  the  mountain  and 
by  the  sobbing  sea.  Do  you  appreciate  the 
emotional  ?  You  will  find  Him  weeping  over 
Jerusalem  and  sobbing  in  Gethsemane.  Are 
you  practical?  You  will  find  most  of  His 
time  spent  in  doing  people  good,  talking  with 
business  men  and  fishermen,  and  dining  with 
publicans  and  sinners.  Do  you  enjoy  an  argu- 
ment ?  You  will  see  Him  fighting  the  bright- 
est men  of  His  day  to  an  intellectual  standstill. 
If  you  want  theology,  you  can  find  it  in  the 


After  Decision  Day  187 

Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  in  the  conversation 
with  JSTicodemus.  If  devotion  appeals  to  you, 
see  John  upon  His  bosom.  Is  forgiveness  the 
highest  exercise  of  the  soul  ? — listen  as  He 
prays  for  His  murderers  and  watch  Him  go 
hence  in  the  company  of  a  forgiven  thief.  Try 
to  be  as  near  like  Him  as  you  can,  and  train 
the  young  people  to  a  broad  view  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  Help  them  to  realize  that  the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit  hangs  on  more  than  one  bough, 
and  that  the  fruit  of  every  bough  comes  from 
the  same  trunk  and  was  nourished  from  the 
same  great  source.  If  these  things  that  I  am 
saying  can  find  a  lodgment  in  the  hearts  of 
those  who  train  the  next  generation  of  Chris- 
tian workers,  we  shall  be  spared  much  that 
has  mortified  the  Church,  been  a  barrier  against 
her  progress,  and  caused  the  enemies  of  God 
to  blaspheme. 

The  problem  before  us  is  the  problem  of 
growth — growth  by  exercise,  growth  within 
and  hence  growth  without.  We  stand  for  no 
rocking-horse  or  treadmill  Christianity.  Teach 
the  children  that  the  happiest  work  in  the 
world  is  the  growing  of  a  Christian  character; 
that  it  has  in  it  laughter  and  song  as  well  as 
stress  and  struggle ;  that  true  religion  has  as 


l88    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

•much  for  youth  as  for  age,  and  that  the  best 
recipe  for  a  blessed  old  age  is  a  pure  and  use- 
ful youth.  Teach  them  that  the  period  of  the 
blade  and  of  the  tassel  is  beautiful  chiefly  be- 
cause of  the  prospect  of  harvest  which  they 
are  to  bear. 

No  words  can  properly  express  the  impor- 
tance of  the  first  conception  which  our  youth 
receive  of  their  own  mission  in  life.  It  is  a 
terrible  thing  to  set  a  limb  wrong  so  that  a 
child  becomes  a  cripple  for  life,  but  it  is  infi- 
nitely worse  to  blunder  in  the  clinics  of  the 
soul.  We  have  learned  that  the  best  teachers 
should  be  employed  in  the  beginning  of  every 
science  and  art  so  that  there  should  be  no  oc- 
casion to  regret  many  methods  which  have 
made  the  best  results  impossible.  We  will 
therefore  be  careful,  but  we  will  be  active  and 
we  will  be  thorough,  for  the  church  of  twenty 
years  hence  is  in  making  now  and  it  will  bear 
the  stamp  we  put  upon  it.  Now  plant  the 
mustard  seed. 

Another  important  matter  to  remember  is 
that  this  growth  in  the  religious  life  is  to  be 
that  of  a  child,  not  that  of  a  man.  We  must 
have  patience  in  our  work.  In  the  training  of 
a  colt  one  cut  of  the  whip  or  ill-tempered  yank 


After  Decision  Day  189 

of  the  reins  will  undo  the  work  of  months  if 
it  does  not  ruin  the  colt.  If  the  child  shirks 
religious  duties  and  does  not  seem  to  enjoy 
God's  work,  if  he  gets  angry  and  is  not  always 
truthful,  it  is  well  to  ask,  whose  child  is  he, 
and  how  came  he  by  such  inclinations  ?  Are 
not  some  ministers  selfish  and  willful,  do  not 
some  officials  get  angry,  are  there  not  many 
church  members  who  seem  careless  of  the 
truth  ?  Do  all  official  board  meetings  minister 
to  growth  in  grace  ?  This  is  not  offered  as  an 
apology  for  unchristian  children  but  simply  as 
a  reminder  that  we  must  not  expect  more  of 
them  than  of  the  average  adult  Christian.  It 
is  so  easy  to  turn  a  child  out  of  the  way,  to  say 
or  do  something  that  will  plainly  show  that  we 
have  lost  patience  or  confidence,  and  after 
that  we  can  do  nothing  more  to  help  that 
child.  Not  only  so,  but  that  hasty  action  will 
cloud  the  whole  life  of  the  child  and  make 
future  devotion  to  Christ  and  the  Church  un- 
likely. Let  your  scholar  think,  speak,  and  act 
as  a  child  so  long  as  he  is  one.  It  will  be  time 
enough  to  put  away  childish  things  when  he 
puts  on  his  toga. 


xxn 

THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    CHRISTIAN    EX- 
PERIENCE 

We  are  now  undertaking  a  work  which  is 
not  to  be  accomplished  in  a  day  or  a  year — 
the  building  up  of  a  strong,  useful,  Christian 
character.  The  growth  of  Christian  expe- 
rience is  the  measure  of  Christian  vitality.  O  ur 
young  people  must  be  taught  that  the  Chris- 
tian life  is  not  sweetest  and  strongest  at  its 
inception,  but  that  with  every  passing  year  it 
is  to  become  fuller  and  stronger.  We  have 
much  to  say  about  experience  in  religion.  Ex- 
perience and  experiment  go  together.  If  we 
do  business  with  God,  we  shall  come  to  have 
confidence  in  Him,  and  we  shall  come  at  length 
to  be  like  Him.  No  man  can  long  consort 
with  God  without  being  conscious  of  the  mov- 
ing of  a  power  within  him  other  than  himself 
and  making  for  righteousness.  The  general 
instruction  which  ought  to  be  given  to  our 
young  people  for  the  beginning  and  develop- 
ment of  a  Christian  experience  may  be  summed 
up  in  four  general  divisions. 
190 


Development  of  Christian  Experience   191 

1.  The  first  relates  to  the  beginning  of  a 
Christian  life.  If  one  would  have  an  experi- 
ence in  life  it  goes  without  saying  that  life 
must  have  its  beginning.  For  the  beginning 
of  a  Christian  life  one  must  go,  first  of  all,  to 
Jesus  Christ  for  the  fullness  of  His  atonement 
and  for  the  peace  which  can  never  come  to  the 
soul  until  it  has  been  consciously  pardoned. 
The  scientist  is  certain  that  life  comes  not  by 
fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms  or  from  sparks 
of  impinging  worlds.  It  comes  from  life 
and  from  life  only.  "  Ye  must  be  born  again." 
There  can  be  no  growth,  as  we  have  indicated, 
until  first  there  is  life.  Many  of  our  young 
people  are  helpless  spiritually  because  they  have 
never  known  the  pulse  of  a  divine  life.  Ah, 
teacher,  thou  art  a  master  in  Israel,  and  it  is  for 
thee  to  know  and  understand  this  thing.  You 
prescribe  like  a  physician  when  the  gates  of  life 
swing  open.  Do  thorough  work.  The  dif- 
ference between  a  robust,  noble  Christian  life 
and  no  life  at  all  may  depend  upon  your  action. 
Kow,  see  to  it  that  there  is  life.  The  sweetest 
cry  a  mother  hears  is  the  first  faint  moan  of  a 
new  life  that  she  has  given  to  the  world.  Be 
not  satisfied  until  you  are  certain  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  done  His  work  in  leading  the 


192    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

soul  out  of  death  unto  life  in  Christ,  and  an- 
other immortal  is  able  to  sing  in  the  newness 
of  life : 

'*  My  God  is  reconciled ; 
His  pardoning  voice  I  hear." 

By  pardon  we  do  not  mean  simply  an  act 
for  the  past  but,  rather,  all  that  follows  a  genu- 
ine conversion  concluding,  not  in  any  mystic, 
marvellous  sense,  but  in  the  sweet  simplicity 
which  the  gospel  reveals — the  witness  of  the 
Spirit. 

2.  Our  second  thought  is  that  this  experi- 
ence must  be  buttressed  by  the  Word  of  God. 
Here  you  are  certainly  at  home,  and  here  you 
must  minister  as  leader  and  guide.  Let  the 
young  people  fully  understand  the  difference 
between  God's  "Word  and  ours.  The  teaching 
of  men  is  of  little  value  save  as  it  illustrates 
and  enforces  the  truths  of  the  Book.  Go,  then, 
to  the  fountain  head.  Teach  the  Word  of  God. 
Your  work  will  be  supplemented  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Your  pupil  will  be  in  condition  now 
to  love  that  to  which  he  was  indifferent  before. 
When  Southey  had  written  his  Life  of  Wesley, 
and  had  shown  his  failure  to  appreciate  the 
work  of  Wesley  on  its  spiritual  side,  because  of 


Development  of  Christian  Experience   193 

his  own  spiritual  lack,  a  humble  Wesleyan  re- 
vealed his  difficulty  in  a  single  sentence  :  "Sir, 
thou  hast  nothing  to  draw  with,  and  the  well 
is  deep."  The  Spirit  will  take  of  the  things  of 
God  and  make  them  luminous  and  blessed,  but 
do  not  fail  to  show  your  scholars  that  the  sense 
in  which  they  need  to  study  the  Word  of  God 
is  the  personal  rather  than  the  historical  or 
critical  sense.  "What  they  want  is  God's  mes- 
sage to  them.  The  word  of  a  father  to  his 
child.  Listen !  A  father  has  left  his  child  in 
a  strange  land.  "When  he  is  twenty-one  years 
of  age  a  book  which  the  father  has  left,  con- 
taining the  ancestry  and  the  future  of  that 
child,  is  to  be  laid  before  him.  He  will  find  in 
it  the  purposes  of  his  father  in  his  life.  He 
will  see  what  plan  he  is  to  pursue  in  order  to 
work  out  that  purpose.  All  the  agencies  which 
will  help  him  will  there  be  set  forth.  The  high 
dignity  to  which  he  is  to  come  if  the  father's 
purposes  are  accomplished,  will  there  be  found. 
What  do  you  think — will  the  boy  read  it  ?  It 
goes  without  saying  that  as  the  time  draws 
near  when  the  mystery  of  his  life  shall  be  un- 
folded there  will  be  burning  cheeks  and  sleep- 
less nights,  and  with  a  hand  that  will  tremble 
till  he  can  hardly  turn  the  pages,  the  youth  will 


194    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

open  that  book  of  life.  Behold,  a  faint  pic- 
ture of  a  soul  face  to  face  with  the  Word  of 
God,  where  all  the  mystery  of  his  life  is  un- 
folded, and  the  high  purposes  of  God  reaching 
on  to  the  eternities  are  all  set  forth.  With 
such  a  conception  of  the  Book  it  is  not  the 
critic's  temper  that  is  needed,  but  rather  the 
honest  prayer :  "  Open  Thou  mine  eyes,  that  I 
may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law." 
So  coming,  our  youth  will  be  glad  to  say  with 
Beecher  :  "  It  is  a  living  book  shooting  out 
rays  of  light  and  heat  into  all  the  world.  He 
who  only  knows  the  print  and  type  of  the  book 
knows  only  a  painted  sun." 

3.  The  third  element  in  the  development  of 
Christian  experience  is  prayer.  This  is  the 
Christian's  vital  breath.  Because  there  is  so 
little  prayer  there  is  little  growth.  "  For  this 
cause  many  are  weak  and  sickly  among  you, 
and  many  sleep."  Does  prayer  avail  ?  Who 
can  answer  that  question  ?  Certainly  not  the 
man  who  seldom  prays.  The  man  who  talks 
most  with  God  knows  most  about  Him.  God 
whispers  His  secrets  to  those  who  talk  most 
confidentially  with  Him.  If  it  be  true  that 
"  one  could  not  stand  under  a  porch  in  a  rain- 
storm for  five  minutes  with  Edmund  Burke 


Development  of  Christian  Experience  195 

without  feeling  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of 
the  greatest  man  in  Europe,"  what  will  be  the 
feeling  of  the  man  who  consorts  with  the 
mighty  God  ?  Teach  the  children  that  prayer 
is,  first  of  all,  communion  and  fellowship  with 
God.  Very  much  of  the  teaching  in  Sunday- 
school  with  regard  to  prayer  is  likely  to  make 
atheists  in  later  life.  The  children  have  been 
taught  to  ask  specific  things  of  God,  utterly 
without  regard  to  the  principles  which  underlie 
true  prayer.  If  a  child  thus  seeking  answers 
to  prayer  does  not  receive  them  in  forms  of 
health,  success,  or  pleasure,  a  doubt  in  all 
prayer  is  generated  which  a  lifetime  will  with 
difficulty  overcome.  Why  not  tell  the  children 
that  prayer  is  not  so  much  telling  God  what 
we  want  as  finding  out  what  His  will  is  con- 
cerning us.  And  when  there  are  hard  things 
to  bear,  why  not  show  them  how  prayer  will 
help  us  ?  Eemind  them  that  it  was  to  prayer 
that  Jesus  Christ  resorted  both  as  the  hope  of 
His  life  and  His  special  solace  in  hours  of  crisis. 
In  all  the  ages  of  the  Church  it  has  been  the 
thing  which  has  quelled  the  burning  fever  of 
life. 

4.    As  the  final  thing  to  be  urged  upon  the 
young  people,  let  me  name  attendance  upon 


196    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

the  services  of  the  Church  and  devotion  to  its 
work.  We  do  well  to  remind  the  children  that 
the  Church  is  not  a  place  where  people  who 
think  that  they  are  better  than  others  go  to 
congratulate  themselves.  It  is  rather  a  place 
where  those  who  desire  to  do  well  get  together 
to  help  one  another  in  their  holy  purpose.  The 
Church  is  a  place  for  the  young  people.  We 
have  been  saying  to  them  for  a  generation : 
"  Don't  1  Don't.  Don't !  "  Some  time  we 
shall  have  sense  enough  to  open  up  to  them 
enjoyments  without  which  there  is  no  adequate 
recreation,  and  which  will  certainly  conduce  to 
their  spiritual  advantage  if  properly  conducted. 
Christianity  is  social.  There  is  no  such  thing 
as  solitary  religion.  We  multiply  our  experi- 
ence by  sharing  it  with  others,  and  they  be- 
come a  great  help  to  us  by  virtue  of  their  sym- 
pathy and  honesty.  The  young  people  who 
stand  by  the  spiritual  work  of  the  Church  will 
themselves  grow  in  grace  and  will  minister 
marvellously  to  the  development  of  the  same 
spirit  in  others.  After  the  tragic  death  of 
Maltbie  D.  Babcock  this  entry  was  found  on 
the  fly-leaf  of  his  pocket  Bible :  "  Riverdale, 
K  Y.,  November  7,  1899.  Committed  myself 
again  with  Christian  brothers  to  unreserved 


Development  of  Christian  Experience  197 

docility  and  devotion  before  my  Master."  For 
such  a  consecration  on  the  part  of  all  our  young 
people  each  teacher  must  work  and  pray ;  when 
they  have  it  they  will  go  to  work,  which  is  the 
secret  of  a  robust  Christian  life. 


XXIII 

SUMMER  EVANGELISM  IN  TOWN 
AND  COUNTRY 

The  summer  campaign  as  conducted  in  gos- 
pel tents  in  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia 
and  other  of  our  chief  cities  last  year  proved 
itself  successful  beyond  the  expectations  of  its 
friends  and  promoters  in  reaching  the  un- 
churched in  the  great  centres  of  urban  life. 
This  success  leads  me  to  suggest  the  applica- 
tion of  the  same  principle  in  modified  form  to 
church  activities  in  small  towns  and  cities  and 
throughout  the  rural  communities  of  our  great 
land. 

Important  as  is  the  problem  how  to  reach 
the  masses  in  the  plague  spots  of  the  world,  it 
is  hardly  second  to  the  problem  of  reaching 
the  manufacturing  and  agricultural  communi- 
ties which  fringe  our  streams  and  cluster  in 
our  valleys.  Foreigners  in  our  cities  ask  the 
pastors  of  our  village  churches,  Who  have 
taken  the  places  of  those  native-born  JSTew 
Englanders  who  have  gone  from  farm  and 
factory  to  the  stores  of  the  East,  and  the  great 
ranches  of  the  West  ?  Is  the  objection  offered 
198 


Summer  Evangelism  199 

that  Protestantism  has  nothing  for  them  and 
that  they  must  be  left  to  Romanism  or  more 
exactly  to  agnosticism,  infidelity,  and  mate- 
rialism, which  is  the  legitimate  swing  of  the 
pendulum  from  the  bigotry  and  ecclesiasticism 
which  cursed  them  in  Spain,  Portugal,  and 
Italy,  Bulgaria,  and  Syria  ?  The  answer  to 
that  is  an  emphatic  negative.  Why  are  we 
sending  missionaries  to  Eoman  Catholic  coun- 
tries if  there  is  no  hope  of  reaching  Eoman 
Catholics  with  the  blessed  gospel  of  the  new 
birth  and  salvation  through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  without  the  intervention  of  priest  or 
pope  ?  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  time  is  ripe 
for  a  great  movement  to  bring  the  dawn  to 
many  honest  souls  who  are  groping  for  the 
light  and  praying  to  be  delivered  from  the 
bondage  of  priestcraft  and  superstition.  They 
have  the  same  desire  which  Savonarola  and 
Luther  voiced,  and  many  of  them  are  as  truly 
spiritual  at  heart  as  were  Francis  of  Assisi  or 
the  sweet  Faber. 

Is  it  not  time  we  had  missions  to  non-Prot- 
estants in  every  city  and  village  in  our  coun- 
try? There  is  a  great  movement  on  foot 
already  among  the  thoughtful  of  the  Roman 
Church. 


200    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

Another  reason  for  the  work  I  am  about  to 
urge  is  the  growing  godlessness  of  th'ose  who 
till  the  soil.  They  live  remote  from  church 
privileges  and  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  year  there  is  little  or  nothing  to  remind 
them  of  God  and  duty.  There  is  little  effort 
made  to  reach  them  and  they  are  likely  to  be- 
come brothers  to  the  sod  they  turn.  There  is 
something  about  the  country  agricultural  life 
which  narrows  the  soul  of  those  who  do  not 
seek  the  help  which  comes  from  religion.  It 
is  a  famous  fact  of  social  life  that  the  class 
among  which  there  is  the  largest  ratio  of  in- 
sanity is  to  be  found  upon  the  farms  of  New 
England  and  the  Middle  West. 

There  is  a  pagan  New  England  that  needs 
to  have  the  gospel  brought  to  it,  and  for  such 
work  there  will  be  a  blessed  return.  Among 
the  methods  which  have  approved  themselves 
even  by  a  limited  and  partial  trial  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

I.  Preaching  on  village  commons  and  in 
country  parks.  In  many  of  our  cities  the 
leading  preachers  have  taken  up  the  work  of 
Sunday  afternoon  preaching  in  the  parks. 
Unitarianism  will  not  be  charged  with  being 
evangelistic,  but  the  foremost  Unitarian  preach- 


Summer  Evangelism  2oi 

ers  of  Boston  go  to  the  Common  and  preach 
during  the  summer  months.  It  would  work  a 
revolution  in  church  methods  and  results  if  in 
every  town  and  city  of  about  five  thousand  in- 
habitants the  ablest  preachers  of  the  town, 
Congregationalists,  Episcopalians,  Baptists, 
Methodists,  every  denomination,  would  go  to 
the  park  or  common  accompanied  by  their 
best  singers,  quartet,  and  soloists,  and  strength- 
ened by  the  presence  of  some  of  their  leading 
members,  give  those  who  gather  an  earnest 
gospel  message  as  thoughtful,  beautiful,  and 
eloquent  as  any  they  preach  in  their  churches. 
Nothing  brings  religion  more  into  disrepute 
among  the  class  where  we  can  least  afford  to 
have  it  discredited  than  the  fact  that  we  have 
largely  left  open-air  preaching  to  those  who 
are  so  outre  and  ill-balanced  that  no  church 
would  open  its  doors  to  them — men  whose 
words  and  actions  alike  condemn  them  in  the 
mind  of  all  sensible  listeners.  That  is  the  only 
gospel  that  many  men  of  the  street  hear. 
Small  wonder  that  we  cannot  get  them  into 
our  churches.  When  the  Church  has  been 
humiliated  sufficiently  by  the  awful  fact  of 
her  impotency  in  face  of  the  community's 
need,  when  our  preachers  have  reached  the 


202    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

point  where  an  empty  church  becomes  at  last 
a  mortgaged  church,  and  later  an  auction  room 
or  a  theatre,  we  may  be  willing  to  swallow 
our  foolish  pride,  relic  of  old  conditions,  and 
conquer  our  indolence  and  do  as  much  to  win 
a  soul  as  an  insurance  agent  would  do  to  sell  a 
policy.  A  part  of  the  village  problem  may  be 
solved  on  the  common  by  the  best  preachers, 
and  every  humblest  lover  of  God  may  help  by 
bringing  to  the  service  those  who  will  not  go 
to  church. 

II.  The  village  tent,  where  the  size  and 
constituency  of  the  town  will  warrant  it,  pref- 
erably on  some  public  square  or  small  park, 
is  an  agency  of  incalculable  good.  As  one 
rides  through  a  town  at  7  or  8  p.  m. 
in  the  summer  he  sees  a  street  full  of  loafers. 
Most  of  them  are  aimless.  They  will  go  to 
the  saloon  or  beer  garden,  not  because  they 
care  very  much  about  drink,  but  because  it  is 
the  only  place  where  there  is  anything  going 
on.  A  patent-medicine  vender  with  a  sleight- 
of-hand  performance  will  get  a  crowd  of 
scores  and  even  hundreds  of  men — just  the 
persons  the  Church  is  anxious  to  reach.  A 
tent  where  entertainment  and  religious  in- 
struction are  combined  will  keep  hundreds 


Summer  Evangelism  203 

from  gambling  and  drunkenness  and  save  the 
young  men  from  the  vile  language  and  vile 
suggestions  which  always  come  to  the  front 
where  the  merry,  the  lazy,  and  the  dissolute 
congregate. 

Almost  every  one  likes  music.  Let  them 
have  a  chance  to  hear  it,  and  to  sing  them- 
selves. Get  a  talking  machine  if  you  have 
no  available  soloist.  If  you  want  to  fill 
your  tent  put  in  for  song  records  :  "  Suwanee 
Kiver"  and  "America"  and  "Home,  Sweet 
Home."  Then  it  will  be  safe  to  put  in 
"Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee"  and  "Jesus, 
Lover  of  My  Soul." 

Almost  every  one  likes  pictures.  Use  a 
stereopticon  and  use  the  best  pictures  to  be 
had.  The  people  will  be  interested  in  pic- 
tures of  home  and  foreign  lands,  and  these 
can  be  followed  by  pictures  of  the  land  of 
Jesus,  and  this  will  be  a  good  chance  to  tell 
of  the  great  things  that  happened  by  Gennes- 
aret,  on  Carmel  and  Calvary.  After  that 
the  consecrated,  level-headed  Christian  gen- 
tleman who  is  running  the  tent,  and  who  is  a 
man  and  not  a  monk,  can  say :  "  My  friends, 
you  have  heard  and  seen  some  pleasant  and 
interesting    things.      You    have    saved    your 


204    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

money  which  you  might  have  squandered  in 
a  saloon,  and  you  have  preserved  your  self- 
respect,  which  you  might  have  lost  at  your 
cups.  If  you  have  had  a  pleasant  and  profit- 
able time  we  are  abundantly  repaid.  It 
would  be  a  fitting  thing  to  close  a  pleasant 
evening  with  a  prayer  of  thanks  to  Him  who 
gives  us  all  our  blessings,  and  if  any  of  you 
would  like  to  seek  His  pardon  for  the  past  and 
His  help  for  the  future,  that  would  make  joy 
in  earth  and  heaven."  Would  you  object  to 
a  service  like  that  ? 

III.  Grove  meetings.  A  few  camp  meet- 
ings are  still  held,  but  are  too  remote  for  gen- 
eral patronage  by  the  countryside,  and  they 
do  not  in  all  cases  meet  the  need  for  which 
they  were  first  designed.  Almost  every  town 
has  its  grove — in  some  cases  a  private  grove, 
in  other  cases  a  picnic-ground  adjunct  of  some 
electric-car  route.  In  the  latter  case  the  crowd 
is  present,  in  the  former  case  a  note,  or,  better 
still,  a  private  invitation  by  some  pastor  or 
church  worker  would  bring  the  farmers  and 
their  families  for  miles  around.  Sunday  is  a 
lazy  day  on  the  farm.  In  most  cases  in  a 
Christian  community  the  restraint  is  suflBcient 
to  keep  men  from  openly  plowing  the  field  or 


Summer  Evangelism  205 

gathering  their  hay.  They  do  a  few  chores 
and  sit  around.  The  children  are  not  at 
school  nor  at  work,  and  the  time  hangs  heav- 
ily on  their  hands.  To  walk  or  drive  to  a 
beautiful  grove  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  and 
hear  good  singing,  meet  their  friends  and 
listen  to  an  earnest,  heart-felt  talk,  would  be 
a  welcome  change  and  have  in  it  the  greatest 
possibilities  for  good.  Here  the  country  pas- 
tor could  get  acquainted  with  those  whom 
he  would  not  otherwise  meet.  He  would  get 
an  invitation  to  call  at  the  house,  and  when 
he  called,  as  he  certainly  should,  he  could  give 
them  an  invitation  to  return  the  call  at  the 
church,  and  we  know  from  personal  experi- 
ence that  it  would  be  done.  If  it  is  delayed 
we  call  again. 

lY.  A  most  helpful  adjunct  for  village  and 
country  work  is  a  gospel  wagon,  seats  for  six, 
— a  driver,  the  preacher,  and  a  quartet  to 
sing.  If  the  driver  or  the  preacher  can  play 
the  cornet  so  much  the  better.  With  such  a 
wagon  two  or  three  factory  villages  or  school 
districts  can  be  reached  each  Sunday  after- 
noon. It  will  touch  the  hearts  of  those  who 
cannot  go  to  the  village  church  ;  it  will  remind 
every  listener  of  the  earnestness  of  the  Church 


2o6    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

to  reach  those  who  need  the  help  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  it  will  pay  rich  dividends  to  the  hearts 
of  those  who  at  the  cost  of  self-denial  and 
weariness  follow  in  His  footsteps  who  went 
about  doing  good.  It  was  He  who  came  to 
seek  and  to  save  those  that  were  being  lost. 

Dr.  W.  J.  Dawson  tells  the  sad  but  thrill- 
ing story  of  Charles  Peace,  who  attained  an 
infamous  fame  in  England  a  few  years  ago  as 
burglar  and  murderer,  a  man  who  seemed  to 
be  absolutely  depraved  in  every  part.  As 
he  was  being  led  to  the  scaffold  to  expiate  his 
crimes  under  human  law,  the  prison  chaplain 
offered  him  what  are  called  "  the  consolations 
of  religion  "  ;  the  wretched  man  turned  upon 
him  and  said,  "Do  you  believe  it?  Do  you 
believe  it  ?  If  I  believed  that  I  would  crawl 
across  England  on  broken  glass  on  my  hands 
and  knees,  to  tell  men  it  was  true." 

Let  every  pastor  in  every  town  and  ham- 
let as  well  as  in  every  city  be  well  assured  that 
when  he  goes  up  to  his  chamber  for  the  last 
time  nothing  in  all  his  life  will  seem  quite  so 
much  worth  while  as  the  effort  he  has  made 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  those  who  did  not  seek 
it,  and  but  for  him  would  have  died  without 
the  knowledge  of  its  saving  power. 


XXIY 

EVANGELISTIC   BIOGRAPHY 

I  AM  glad  to  confess  myself  incalculably  in- 
debted to  Christian  biography.  As  the  trophies 
of  Miltiades  stirred  every  Greek  to  emulate  his 
example,  so  the  devotion  of  the  heroes  of  the 
cross  is  a  constant  challenge  to  my  soul.  The 
Bible  itself  is  the  greatest  biography  of  spirit- 
ual heroes,  and  there  is  no  phase  of  the  strength 
or  weakness  of  mankind  that  it  does  not  touch 
upon.  After  one  has  read  the  inspired  record 
of  their  achievements,  he  will  feel  like  a  cum- 
berer  of  the  ground  if  he,  too,  does  not  strip 
off  his  weights  and  pluck  up  his  spirit.  He 
will  be  fain  to  adopt  the  words  of  him  who 
watched  the  holy  martyrs  of  the  eleventh  of 
Hebrews  troop  by  :  "  Therefore  let  us  also, 
seeing  we  are  compassed  about  with  so 
great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  lay  aside  every 
weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset 
us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that 
is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus  the  author 
and  perfect er  of  our  faith,  who  for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  Him  endured  the  cross,  de- 
207 


2o8     Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

spising  shame,  and  hath  sat  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  God." 

Next  to  the  heroes  of  the  Bible,  in  point  of 
devotion  as  well  as  time,  come  the  saints  and 
martyrs  of  the  early  Church.  A  little  time  spent 
in  the  study  of  those  brave  days  which  saw  the 
founding  of  the  Christian  faith  in  every  centre 
of  civilization  will  quicken  our  feet  to  carry 
the  gospel  in  our  time  to  every  heathen  com- 
munity. The  principle  of  devotion  which  was 
there  exemplified  is  the  same  that  we  must  il- 
lustrate. The  spirit  which  made  the  aged 
Polycarp  cry  in  face  of  fagot  and  chain, 
"  Eighty  and  six  years  have  I  served  Him. 
Why  should  I  forsake  Him  now  ?  "  will  lay 
hold  of  us  in  the  hour  of  indifference  and  make 
heroic  sacrifice  a  delight.  The  story  of  the 
brave  days  when  Perpetua  went  to  the  lions, 
when  mountain  fastnesses  echoed  with  the  tri- 
umphant song  of  the  persecuted,  when  Rome  was 
fairly  undermined  by  those  who  dug  and  wor- 
shipped and  died  in  the  catacombs,  and  when 
Nero  at  midnight  drove  to  his  palace  through  ave- 
nues illuminated  by  torches,  every  one  of  which 
was  a  Christian  martyr  in  his  winding  sheet  of 
flame — such  records  as  these  will  make  real  to 
us  the  human  sacrifice  which  is  always  neces- 


Evangelistic  Biography  209 

sary  in  one  form  or  another  if  men  shall  be 
greatly  moved  to  holy  emprise,  and  the  faith 
which  was  founded  through  such  devotion  we 
will  sustain  by  like  heroic  zeal. 

I  am  not  so  particular  to  name  the  heroes  of 
the  ages  as  I  am  to  inspire  an  interest  in  the 
whole  field  of  Christian  biography  which  will 
send  every  lover  of  the  Church  to  the  crim- 
soned pages  of  her  history  to  find  his  own  he- 
roes and  to  make  immortal  in  his  own  life  that 
splendid  sacrifice  by  which  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  became  the  seed  of  the  Church. 

Every  age  has  had  its  martyrs  to  the  spirit  of 
evangelism  and  each  student  will  find  in  the 
famous  or  the  obscure  that  which  appeals  to 
his  own  soul  and  begets  within  him  an  un- 
conquerable heroic  purpose. 

If  one  has  the  spirit  of  the  reformer  let  him 
hark  back  to  the  days  of  the  evangelist  of 
Florence.  Let  him  recall  the  setting  of  the 
stage  on  which  Savonarola  played  his  part.  He 
will  have  for  a  background  Lorenzo,  the  Hu- 
manists, the  smoke  of  unholy  books,  and  the 
acclaim  of  the  penitent  crowd  ;  and,  standing 
outlined  against  it  all,  the  stern  prophet  sepa- 
rated from  the  Church  militant  by  papal  bull 
crying  in  holy  joy,  "  Not  from  the  Church  tri- 


210    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

umphant,  with  that  the  Pope  has  nothing  to 
do."  It  ought  to  be  easier  after  such  a  vision 
to  bear  the  test  of  any  market  place  and  face 
any  human  excommunication. 

It  is  not  far  from  Savonarola  to  Luther,  a 
man  of  like  passion  with  ourselves,  but  ah,  if 
we  could  gain  a  like  steadfastness.  Before  the 
sovereigns  of  half  the  world  with  knights  and 
nobles  in  gleaming  armour  he  stands  almost 
alone.  A  steeled  baron  touches  him  with  his 
gauntlet  and  says,  "  Pluck  up  thy  spirit,  little 
Monk.  I  have  seen  hard  battles  in  my  day 
but  nor  I  nor  any  knight  in  this  company 
ever  needed  a  stout  heart  more  than  thou 
needst  it  now.  If  thou  hast  faith  in  these  doc- 
trines of  thine,  little  Monk,  go  on."  Hear 
Luther  saying  in  holy  resolve  :  "  Here  I  stand, 
I  can  do  no  other,  God  help  me  ! "  Here  we 
have  in  a  single  sentence  the  Iliad  of  all  the 
martyrs.  I  like  to  hear  the  echo  of  his  prayers 
at  Erfurt  and  the  echo  of  his  hammer  at  Wit- 
tenburg  and  the  crash  of  the  bottle  aimed  at 
the  devil  in  Wartburg  Castle.  Higher  crit- 
icism will  doubtless  feel  itself  free  to  maintain 
that  it  was  rats  and  not  the  devil  that  invaded 
the  good  man's  room,  but  there  is  little  question 
that   Luther   having   faced   so  many  of  the 


Evangelistic  Biography  2 1 1 

devilish,  thought  it  perfectly  reasonable  that 
the  father  of  liars  might  be  close  at  hand. 
But  the  thing  that  counts  is  that,  being  per- 
suaded that  the  arch  fiend  in  bodily  presence 
vras  over  against  him,  he  did  not  tremble  and 
he  did  not  run,  but  took  the  instrument  nearest 
at  hand  and  "  had  at  him."  It  takes  a  stout 
heart  even  in  our  time  to  throw  an  ink  bottle 
at  the  devil,  whether  you  throw  it  all  at  once 
or  drop  by  drop  from  a  trenchant  pen. 

England  is  the  home  of  heroes  who  have 
dared  and  died  for  Christ^s  sake,  and  every 
man  in  whose  veins  is  English  blood  owes  it 
to  himself  to  stand  by  his  heritage.  From 
the  days  of  "Wickliffe  to  the  fagots  and  gallows 
of  Tyburn  and  Oxford,  men  have  sealed  their 
faith  with  their  lives,  and  others  like  Bunyan 
were  "  had  home  to  prison "  for  the  love 
they  bore  their  Lord,  and  preachers  of  the 
gospel  like  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys  were 
hooted  and  mobbed,  but  they  "  bated  not  a  jot 
of  heart  or  hope." 

Across  the  border  in  Scotland  is  the  record 
of  an  innumerable  company  of  evangelistic  mar- 
tyrs. Here  is  Knox  who  will  not  tremble 
even  before  a  bigoted  and  wicked  queen.  "  I 
have  looked  into  the  faces  of  angry  men  and 


212    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

was  not  terrified  above  measure ;  why  should 
I  fear  the  face  of  a  gentle  woman  ?  "  Hear  him 
crying  in  the  passion  of  a  yearning  soul, 
"  Give  me  Scotland  or  I  die."  Will  the  world 
ever  cease  to  remember  the  brave  da3''s  of  the 
Covenanters  and  the  heroes  who  preceded 
them  ?  It  was  of  Hamilton  that  the  enemies 
of  the  Church  said,  "  If  any  more  are  burned, 
burn  them  in  cellars,"  for  they  feared  that  the 
smoke  of  their  sacrifice  would  be  a  winding 
sheet  for  those  who  had  kindled  the  fire.  My 
soul  has  often  been  fired  by  the  sight  of  Mar- 
garet Wilson  fastened  to  a  stake  where  the 
tide  of  Galway  is  creeping  up  till  at  last  the 
flood-tide  brought  to  her  spirit  the  glorious 
epiphany  of  her  Lord.  The  names  of  Hugh 
McKail,  of  James  Guthrie,  of  all  the  heroes  of 
the  "  Grass  Market "  and  "  The  Killing  Time," 
ought  to  inspire  every  evangelist  with  an  un- 
conquerable purpose  to  be  himself  a  burning 
and  a  shining  light. 

America  has  her  own  evangelistic  Valhalla 
in  whose  high  halls  is  enshrined  the  memory 
of  those  kindred  spirits  who  "  counted  not  their 
own  lives  dear  unto  themselves."  Some  of 
those  heroes  we  know  and  some  are  nameless 
now.    We   reap   where  they  sowed  and  the 


Evangelistic  Biography  213 

fields  which  knew  their  sweat  and  blood  and 
now  enshrine  their  dust,  blossom  in  our  behalf 
like  the  garden  of  the  Lord.  They  were  hum- 
ble itinerant  preachers,  and  rough  but  conse- 
crated laymen,  and  this  request,  made  by  a 
Church  of  a  Bishop,  was  typical  of  the  condi- 
tions they  had  to  face.  "  Send  us  a  man  who 
can  swim,  the  last  preacher  you  sent  was 
drowned  crossing  a  swollen  river  in  the  early 
spring."  Bead  the  Journals  of  Asbury,  the 
Life  of  Peter  Cartwright,  the  life-story  of  the 
Christian  settlers  of  the  Northwest  and  then 
take  up  the  biographies  of  those  great  names 
that  never  die  :  Edwards,  Finney,  Judson, 
Brainard,  Baton,  Bishop  Taylor,  Moody  and  a 
score  of  others,  most  of  whom  are  fallen  on 
sleep  but  whose  works  follow  them.  It  is  true 
that  all  this  would  make  a  library  that  would 
take  years  to  properly  study,  but  I  ask  that 
every  one  who  is  the  heir  of  the  evangelistic 
ages  shall  know  enough  about  the  men  who 
made  those  ages  on  understand  the  price  they 
paid,  so  that  they  may  not  shrink  from  similar 
sacrifices.  That  must  be  a  sodden  torch  that 
will  not  kindle  in  such  a  flame. 


XXV 

THE  EVANGELISTIC  REWARD 

It  remains  to  speak  a  final  word  concerning 
the  result  of  the  high  endeavour  which  this  book 
seeks  to  urge.  During  an  address  before  a 
large  body  of  pastors  I  was  asked  if  I  did  not 
think  the  course  I  had  recommended  was  a  toil- 
some way  and  one  in  which  the  pastor  would 
soon  become  fatigued  and  nervously  exhausted. 
While  I  had  to  admit  that  the  plan  to  which  I 
was  committed  would  be  as  strenuous  and  ex- 
hausting physically  as  any  man  would  care  to 
undertake,  I  asked  the  question,  "  Which 
would  be  the  more  likely  to  induce  mental  and 
nervous  bankruptcy ;  to  work  until  one  was 
conscious  of  having  physically  done  his  best 
but  to  go  home  at  the  close  of  a  service  so 
happy  that  sleep  was  hardly  possible  because 
of  the  exaltation  of  spirit  over  sinners  coming 
home  to  God  and  men  and  women  gladly  giv- 
ing allegiance  to  the  blessed  Christ;  or  to 
spend  one's  time  in  thinking  of  some  plan  to 
escape  from  a  losing  cause  and  a  dying  Church 
and  devising  some  scheme  whereby  one  could 
214 


The  Evangelistic  Reward  215 

be  saved  from  the  mortification  and  disaster  of 
an  ecclesiastical  undoing."  I  submit  that  noth- 
ing is  so  likely  to  prolong  life  and  to  multiply 
its  joys  as  the  return  which  comes  from  self- 
denying  evangelistic  toil. 

The  great  evangelistic  reward  is  not  seen 
in  the  comfort  or  advancement  of  the  pas- 
tor nor  in  the  improved  financial  condition  of 
those  whom  he  seeks  to  bring  to  God  nor  in 
the  increased  revenue  of  the  Church  and  all 
charitable  institutions  and  causes.  Here  is  the 
result  as  God  looks  at  it.  "  Let  him  know  that 
he  who  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error 
of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death  and 
shall  cover  a  multitude  of  sins."  If  that  be 
true  we  are  quite  prepared  to  give  our  assent 
to  the  declaration  of  the  Wise  Man,  "  He  that 
wiuneth  souls  is  wise."  The  work  is  so  im- 
portant that  God  sent  the  only  Son  He  had 
upon  this  errand.  The  wisdom  of  it  and  the 
joy  of  it  were  so  great  that  He  despised  the 
shame  and  the  pain  of  it  and  the  ages  have  meas- 
ured Him  by  His  success  in  that  work  and  bring 
the  crown  of  universal  dominion  and  fit  it  to 
His  brow.  When  He  came  to  give  His  last  mes- 
sage to  the  waiting  Church  which  was  to  found 
His  kingdom  and  usher  in  His  reign  these  were 


2i6    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

its  words,  "  Go  ye  therefore  and  make  disciples 
of  all  the  nations,"  and  it  was  only  in  that  occu- 
pation that  they  had  the  right  to  expect  the 
fulfillment  of  His  promise,  "Lo  I  am  with 
you  always  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

There  is  great  force  in  the  words  of  Dr. 
Torrey  :  "  I  would  like  to  ask  what  right  any 
man  has  to  call  himself  a  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ  if  he  is  not  a  soul- winner  ?  There  is 
absolutely  no  such  thing  as  following  Christ 
unless  you  make  the  purpose  of  Christ's  life 
the  purpose  of  your  life." 

A  great  change  has  taken  place  in  the  em- 
phasis that  the  pew  puts  upon  the  pulpit.  The 
man  with  a  message  is  the  man  the  people  go 
to  hear.  The  common  people  are  setting  the 
pace  in  this  as  they  have  in  every  other  refor- 
mation that  has  shaken  the  world.  They  have 
sense  enough  to  know  that  face  to  face  with 
sinning  and  dying  men  and  women,  nothing 
else  is  worth  while.  Bishop  McDowell  says, 
*•'  A  fine  woman  came  home  from  one  of  the 
finest  Churches  in  ISTew  York  and  said:  *  It  was 
well  enough  in  every  respect  save  one :  it  did 
not  matter.'  The  seed  was  so  poor  that  it  was 
not  worth  the  planting." 

Many  of    the  most  polished  and  literary 


The  Evangelistic  Reward  217 

preachers  among  us  have  seen  a  vision  and  will 
no  longer  be  satisfied  with  the  old  colourless, 
meaningless  life.  A  new  joy  is  filling  their 
soul  and  life  is  throbbing  under  the  ribs  of 
death.  One  sermon  under  the  new  inspiration 
has  more  of  holy  triumph  in  it  than  was  found 
in  a  year  under  the  old  conditions.  Empty 
pews  are  filling  up.  Perpendicular  wrinkles 
are  changing  to  horizontal  ones.  The  frost  is 
off  the  window  pane,  the  refrigerator  is  be- 
come an  incubator,  the  pump-handle  has  be- 
come an  arm  of  flesh  with  a  brother's  warm 
grasp  at  the  end  of  it.  A  better  day  is  dawn- 
ing, when  preachers  shall  no  longer  be  satisfied 
with  a  round  of  heartless  ministrations,  but 
will  weep  day  and  night  till  the  victory  comes 
in  the  salvation  of  the  people.  Such  service 
will  bring  rewards  which  are  unspeakable  and 
endless. 

I  rejoice  that  the  pulpit  of  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  and  Lyman  Abbott  has  in  it  a  man  of 
evangelistic  trend  and  prophetic  mould.  Listen 
to  the  burning  words  of  Dr.  Hillis : 

"  They  tell  us  there  are  a  million  folk  in  the 
palaces  and  hovels  of  New  York  that  never 
cross  the  threshold  of  a  Church — Catholic  or 
Protestant — and   forty  millions   in  the  land. 


2i8    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

Verily  the  Church  is  encamped  on  the  edge  of 
a  dark  continent  of  worldliness  and  selfishness 
and  pleasure  and  sin.  Through  the  air  comes 
the  old  sweet  searching  command,  shivering 
through  us  like  a  trumpet  call,  *  Oh,  to  die 
for  men's  souls  I  And  live  to  win  their  lives  I 
Here  and  now  let  us  forswear  ease.'  Ease 
will  come  yonder.  Here  and  now  let  us  per- 
chance postpone  culture — there  will  be  time 
for  that  there.  One  passion  ours, — to  spread 
the  evangel.  One  purpose, — to  gather  in 
our  multitude  out  of  the  wilderness  and  lead 
them  towards  the  shining  city.  Enough  for  us 
that  for  the  broken-hearted  and  the  sinful  we 
have  shown  the  path  that  leads  to  the  Christ, 
who  is  indeed  the  heart  of  Christianity  and  re- 
ligion,— a  great,  dear  Person,  standing  with 
outstretched  hands." 

What  marvelous  rewards  come  daily  to  the 
heart  of  the  evangelistic  pastor,  and  to  the 
layman  who  is  a  winner  of  souls.  Wherever 
he  journeys  he  has  blessed  company.  The 
beautiful  words  of  Uhland's  Passage  are 
his  : 

**  Take,  oh,  boatman,  thrice  thy  fee, 
Take,  I  give  it  willingly, 
For  unseen  by  thee 
Spirits  twain  have  crossed  with  me." 


The  Evangelistic  Reward  219 

He  is  getting  old  now  and  the  high  exploits 
of  the  great  days  of  his  prime  gladden  his 
heart  no  more.  But  a  stranger  greets  him 
and  says,  as  a  man  said  the  other  day  to  an 
old  preacher  in  New  England,  "  Do  you  re- 
member me  ?  "  "  My  eyes  are  not  as  good  as 
they  used  to  be,  and  I  forget  so  easily,"  said 
the  old  man.  But  the  other  answered,  "  Do 
you  remember  how  John  was  con- 
verted under  your  ministry  forty  years  ago  ?  " 
"Oh,  yes,  John,  I  shall  remember  that  as 
long  as  I  live,"  and  John  replies,  "  All  I  am 
and  hope  to  be  I  owe  under  God  to  you.  Let  me 
tell  you  how  I  love  you."  And  they  wind 
their  arms  about  each  other's  neck — Paul  and 
Timothy.  Such  an  hour  is  worth  a  lifetime 
of  toil;  but  Daniel  lifts  the  curtain  of  the 
future  and  writes  like  the  seer  that  he  is: 
"And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that 
turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever 
and  ever."  Strange  that  a  little  light  should 
blaze  so  high  and  shine  so  far,  but  so  it  is  in 
the  kingdom  of  God.  It  was  only  two  mites 
and  a  widow,  1,900  years  ago  and  seven  thou- 
sand miles  away,  but  still  it  shines  like  a  con- 


220    Pastoral  and  Personal  Evangelism 

stellation  and  thousands  call  her  wise  who 
never  called  a  star  by  name. 

What  has  been  your  labour  under  the  sun 
and  what  have  you  to  show  for  it  ?  If  fame  was 
the  object  and  we  won  it,  we  found  how  empty 
it  is  and  how  soon  men  are  forgotten.  The 
files  of  the  newspapers  of  a  decade  ago  are 
filled  with  names  that  no  man  speaks  to-day. 
If  we  have  sought  for  wealth  we  have  found 
it  hard  to  win  and  easy  to  lose  and  a  bitter 
thing  to  hold  if  it  has  been  won  at  the  cost  of 
truth  and  love.  All  these  end  here.  It  is 
threnody  and  thanatopsis  and  we  go  out 
empty  handed,  and  the  mourners 'go  about  the 
streets.  But  if  we  have  never  had  the  things 
that  men  covet  we  may  yet  go  hence  in  peace. 

When  we  go  up  to  our  chamber  for  the  last 
time  only  one  thing  will  count.  Kutherford 
knew  what  it  was  when  he  sang : 

"  If  one  soul  from  An  worth 

Meet  me  at  God's  right  hand 
My  heaven  will  be  two  heavens 
In  Emanuel's  land." 

There  is  but  one  business  which  is  worth 
while.  To  undertake  it  the  throne  of  heaven 
was    emptied  that  the  mansions  of  heaven 


The  Evangelistic  Reward  221 

might  be  filled.  It  challenged  the  Son  of  God 
and  consumed  Him  with  its  passion  and  there 
is  nothing  so  godlike  among  men.  No  re- 
wards are  so  great  as  those  which  it  offers  and 
they  will  shine  with  unabating  brilliancy 
when  suns  and  systems  are  no  more.  "  He 
that  winnetb  souls  is  wise." 


PASTORAL  PROBLEMS 


An  Efficient  Church 

With  an  introduction  by  Bishop  Earl   CrafiStffft,  IX.   D., 
i2mo,  Cloth,  $1.25  net.  CARL  GREQQ  DONEY 

This  book  is  one  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  science  of 
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questioning  of  a  great  number  of  students,  laymen  and 
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He  opens  up  the  pathway  to  methods  of  working  and  teach- 
ing in  the  modern  religious  congregation  that  will  upset 
some  old  ideals,  but  cannot  fail  to  give  every  alert  religious 
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Preacher  Problemi .»'  "»47c°he,t  hIZZ,^ 

i2mo,  Qoth,  $1.50  net.  WILLIAM  T.  MOORB 

There  is  very  much  about  the  actual  operation  of  a  pro- 
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and  even  after  much  experience  the  minister  will  find  him- 
self confronting  a  situation  for  which  he  has  no  data  to 
guide  him.  This  book  is  an  adviser  for  the  minister  young 
or  old;  advice  from  a  long  experience  and  guided  by  the 
sanest  spirit.  The  author's  fifty-years  experience  as  author, 
editor,  instructor  and  pastor,  gives  his  conclusions  great  value 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Ministry: 

Outlines  based  on  Luthardt  and  Krauth. 
i2mor Cloth,  75c  net.;        REVERE  FRANKLIN  WEIDNER 

This  work  is  the  result  and  growth  of  twenty-five  years 
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Luthardt's  presentation  it  is  much  more  than  a  translation, 
as  Luthardt  does  not  devote  more  than  ten  pages  in  his 
works  to  this  theme,  and  Krauth  would  not  cover  a  score  of 
toapers.  Dr.  Weidner,  President  of  the  Chicago  Lutheran 
Seminary,  may  therefore  well  claim  full  authorship. 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 


The  Modern  Sunday  School  in  Principle 

^|.^    PrACtice    ^''  ^^  Modfirn  School  and  Its  Edacational 

j2mo,  Cloth,  $1.00  net.  HENRY  F.  COPE 

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So  clear  and  simple  is  his  presentation,  that  this  book  will 
be  a  revel;»tion  to  many. 


FOR  THt  CHRISTIAN  LIFE 


The  Simple  Things  of  the  Christian  Life 

i6mo,  Cloth,  soc  net,  Q.  CAMPBELL  MORGAN 

Ag  indicated  by  the  title,  the  author  here  deals  with 
commonplace  experiences.  The  New  Birth,  Holiness,  Growth, 
Work,  Temptation.  But  by  no  means  commonplace  is  the 
treatment  of  the  themes.  In  that  lucid  and  convincing  style 
of  which  he  is  master,  the  author  charms  as  he  instructs  and 
inspires. 


Anecdotes  and  Illustrations  ^^ 

-     R.  A.  TORREY 

"   Illustrated,  i2mo,  Qoth,  7SC  net;  Paper,  35c  net. 

f'  The  value  of  apt  illustration  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
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varied  experience  of  the  author  have  added  largely  to  the 
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The  Listening  Heart 

k  i2mo.  Cloth,  $i.oo  net  'JOHN  A.  KERN 


A  book  of   Devotional   Interpretation   by   the   professor 
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The  Practice  of  Prayer 

'  lamo,  Cloth,  7Sc  net.  G.  CAMPBELL  MORGAN 

The  aim  of  this  book  is  purely  practical.     "Teach  us  to 

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abit  of  prayer.  "Any  discussion,"  says  the  preface,  "of 
the  doctrine  of  prayer  which  does  not  issue  in  the  practice 
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The  Daily  Altar 

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ing a  very  brief  prayer  for  each  day  in  the  year. 

The  Second  Coming  of  Christ 

x6mo,  Qoth,  50c  net  LBN  0.  BROUGHTON 


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